The Ripple Effect: The Stone of Immortality
by DimensionalJumper223
Summary: When Harry Potter enrolled at Hogwarts Collegium of the Arcane Arts, he didn't realise he would be rooming with a Nefari/Human Hybrid, learning how to fly and saving the world. A mysterious object is being kept at Hogwarts, and someone in the school is trying to steal it. It's up to Harry, Frank, Ron, Susan and Heidi to stop them and save both worlds. Don't Let 8 Chapters Stop You!
1. The Rushed Beginning

**Name: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings: **Integrated Magical World, Younger!Smart!Ravenclaw!Harry, Bossy!Ravenclaw!Hermione, BWL!Neville.

**Pairings: **Harry/Heidi, Frangja'Dera'sa/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognise. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

For many years, Humans have stared into the heavens and questioned the great mystery. 'Are we alone?'. Attempts to find other planets had been made, but were never successful. Many believed that there was no other life in space, and that Humans had been put on Earth by a Greater Power, a diety that goes by many names and takes on many forms, but for simplistics sake, we'll go with the more known moniker 'God'. An equal amount of people believe that their telescopes and radio recievers were not strong enough, nor attuned enough to reach an alien planet and get an answer back.

Most Humans would be surprised, and perhaps angered, to know that the latter is correct. Hell, their technology is not even strong enough to pick up transmissions coming from a planet only 20.22 lightyears away. This planet was located in a star system inside the constellation the eastern Humans know of as Libra. This planet was called Nefari Kita of the Kitan System. The name translated loosely to 'Home of the People'. It was in a city orbiting the planet amongst the dense asteroids that surrounded the planet that one of the biggest discoveries to Human and Nefarian History was to be made.

Manning the controls to a Satellite Telescope orbiting a gas giant near the edge of their system was a young rookie astronomer named Dyst'Vik'sa Guth'Jenk'teth, a tall blue furred feline alien with violet eyes, an angled face, swivelling ears atop his head, six fingers and toes on each limb and two prehensile tails. He was wearing a white lab coat with no sleeves, black trousers with holes in the back for his tails, tall boots and gold bracers on his arms that ended with a jeweled ring on each finger. The male Nefari also had looping bracers on his tails that ended with what looked like tubes. Over his eyes, he wore what looked like a humans spectacles with a metallic extension on the top with hinges. The extension was currently dropped over his eyes, allowing him to read the text flashing across the holo-screens at a faster rate then any other Nefarian.

The door slid open, and a golden furred Nefari girl with green eyes and more feminine features then Dyst'Vik'sha. She was wearing a similar outfit to Dyst'Vik'sa, only with sleeves and no bracers. One difference was that she was missing her left arm, and instead had a robotic replacement. She was carrying two bottles of hot chocoboid, a sweet and bitter bean that when crushed and mixed with Wigsillian Org beast milk, makes a delicious drink.

"Heyo Dyst! Any luck yet?" asked the female, coming over and placing one of the bottles on the counter and pecking Dyst on the lips. Dyst reached for the drink and popped the top off, before taking a sip.

"Not yet, Jevki'sheth, just like every Kitan cycle so far, I'm afraid" Dyst said rubbing his large eyes sleepily, pushing his glasses up slightly. Jevki looked closely at her mate's eyes and frowned.

"You haven't been sleeping have you?" she accused, pointing a sharp claw at her life-mate. Dyst pushed the claw out of his face and turned to the screen, blearily reading the symbols coming up at the speed of sound itself.

"No... I've been clocking in overtime for the last few weeks. Credit's are getting low, and I need the extra pay to keep the den-home in Lower Portiac'Durma" he said tiredly, resting his head on the cool metal counter with a sigh. He felt Jevki cover the side of his head and kiss the top of his head.

"You should ask for a raise, furrbai" she said softly, lowering her arms to his side and hugging him slightly. Dyst gave a little laugh.

"A raise? We only get a raise if we discover something that hasn't been found before. Frieda'Jlarga'sha got an extra four hundred credits added to his pay for discovering a planet with a small tribe of pygmy wigsillians" Dyst said, shaking his head.

"Pygmy Wigsillians?"

"Yeah, he theorised that the comet that originally brought the genetic coding to Nefari Kita brushed against the planet and dropped off some rocks that allowed the species to grow. They've already been catalouged as a subspecies to the Wigsillian Org Beasts here, despite only being discovered two weeks ago" Dyst explained, using the orb-like controls to turn the satellite he was manning two metres to the left.

"Hmmm... Maybe you need a little... encouragement..." Jevki said, grinning and showing off the two sets of fangs that all Nefari possessed.

"Encouragement?"

"Yeah... if you find a planet, I'll leave the window to my den-home unlocked. The more advanced the planet, the more I let you do to me..." she whispered in his ear. Dyst shivered and looked at her as if she had grown a third tail.

"That's just cruel! I might never find a planet!" he whined. She smirked and walked out, picking up her drink and flicking his nose with one of her tails.

"Then you'll just have to try harder, hmm?" she said, leaving the room. He stared at her swinging backside, before shaking his head and looking at the large holo-screen like a lost crocolisk pup. He sighed and flipped the reader down so he could do a more thorough search. Dyst'Vik'sha continued working for several hours, before a light started blinking. He scrolled up some information and brought up a file on a system that had just been scanned 20.22 light years from Nefari Kita. It consisted of nine planets, and one of them was showing signs of breathable air, drinkable water and flora and fauna surprisingly advanced. There was even signs of a civilisation! Dyst'Vik'sha grinned happily, imagining the raise he was going to get, and the night he was going to be treated to by his baifurr!

Dyst pulled a small triangular device with a screen, speaker and several buttons around the sides. He pressed a combination and an image of a pudgy black Nefari with red streaks and yellow eyes. He had a plume of fur on his head and was dressed in a smart outfit.

"Yes? What is it Guth'Jenk'teth?" growled the overweight Nefari.

"I found a planet Kizkar Pren'Thar'teth! I found a level five!" Dyst'Vik'sha announced, grinning happily. Kizkar Pren'Thar'teth blinked and grinned.

"Send the file to my data field, Guth'Jenk'teth, I'll review it and get back to you" Kizkar Pren'Thar'teth said, and hung up. Dyst ran over to the data field and started typing, before the file flickered and vanished, having been sent to his boss. Dyst pulled out his communicator and put in the combination for Jevki's den-home.

"Hi Dyst! How's it going?" asked Jevki, looking a little tired.

"Fantastic! I've found one!" he said. Jevki gave a gasp and dropped her communicator, making Dyst wince at the clattering noise. The com was picked up and Jevki spoke.

"My window will be unlocked..."

For many, September 1st was the busiest time of the year, and even more so was it in 1971. It was this year that several people were beginning their first year at the prestige school Hogwarts. It was also very secret to a large amount of the European Populace, as it was a school of magic. The people beginning their first year were James Charlus Potter, Sirius Orion Black, Lily Rose Evans, Severus Tobias Snape, Remus John Lupin and Peter Griswald Pettigrew.

It was on this day, as the young wizards and witches began their magical education, that something amazing happened. Something that would rock the earth to its core. Lets go back a little to James Potter's Day

**-JAMES POTTERS DAY-**

"James! Hurry up and get your butt down here! You're going to be late!" yelled Dorian Potter, sighing as she waited for her son to get downstairs. They were running late and if they didn't hurry, they'd have to Floo James to Hogwarts. Her eyes widened as she saw how James was coming downstairs.

"NO BROOMS IN THE HOUSE!" She screamed, brandishing her wand. James stopped in mid-air, a centermetre away from his mothers nose.

"We going or what?" he asked, smiling cheekily. Dorian sighed irritably, waving her wand and fixing her frizzy hair for the fifteenth time.

"You're going to turn my hair grey one day, young man" she snapped. James shrugged, grinning.

Soon, they were at the corner of the street in Godric's Hollow. Dorian held James' hand and stuck out her wand. The Knight Bus exploded into view in front of them, startling James, but not bothering Dorian.

"Isn't Dad coming along to see me off?" James asked, looking back at the manor.

"No, Charlus would rather hang at the bar with his friends then see you off" Dorian said, scowling slightly as they climbed aboard the Knight Bus, she not even sparing a glance at the balding conductor. James looked down sadly.

They were soon speeding toward London, and while James would usually be having the time of his life, he was too busy mulling over his father. He didn't like how his mum called his dad by his first name around him. She hadn't called him by any pet-names or "Your Father" in years, and it really worried him.

He was nearly thrown out of his seat (an impressive feat that he had stayed in the damned thing for so long) when the bus stopped suddenly. The door to the drivers side of the bus opened and the elderly Earnie Prang got out and stared at the sky. The conductor ran off the bus to look, and looked amazed and scared. James ran out of the bus along with a black haired boy and looked up as well.

"Oh my Merlin..."

**-SIRIUS BLACKS DAY-**

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! IF YOU DO NOT GET DOWN HERE, I SWEAR I'LL PUT YOU IN A MUGGLE ORPHANAGE!" screamed Walburga Black from the base of the stairs. A young boy with curly black hair and aristocrac looks poked his head from around the banister

"Promise?" he asked, grinning at his mother cheekily. Walburga rolled her eyes and stomped into the kitchen. Sirius rolled his eyes at her in return and came down the stairs, his trunk floating behind him. They left the house, and hailed the Knight Bus. They got on, and Walburga muttered something about Potters taking up valuable seats. They were soon speeding through london, with Sirius trying to pretend that he didn't know his mother. He was considering changing his name to something cool, like Sylar when the bus screeched to a halt. The bus driver and the conductor ran off the bus and looked skyward. Sirius joined them as the Potter boy ran out, ignoring his mothers yells. He heard the boy mutter in shock and looked up as well.

"What on Earth..."

**-LILY EVANS' DAY-**

"Lily? What are you doing out there?" asked Francise Evans, poking his head out the door to the backyard. Francise was the husband of Rosaline Evans nee Gray, and was supposed to be driving his daughter Lillian Evans to Kings Cross so she could get on a train to attend a secret school for wizards and witches. He had been overjoyed to learn that Lily would be able to do magic much like the characters in his novels. Francise Evans was the author of the bestselling series Arnold Howl's Magical Adventures. He looked out into the yard to see his daughter lying on the grass and staring at something in the sky. "Lily?"

Francise rushed over, and knelt down beside his daughter. "Lily? Are you okay?" he asked. Lily nodded, her emerald green eyes wide as she pointed at the sky. Francise looked at where she was pointing, and felt his jaw drop.

"Oh my God..."

**-SEVERUS SNAPE'S DAY-**

"Come along Sev, we best hurry. Your father will be home soon" Eileen Snape said crisply, steering her son out of the old house the lived in on Spinners End. Severus nodded seriously, knowing how mad his muggle father can get when it comes to magic. It took him long enough to tolerate Eileen knowing how to cast spells and make potions, but to find out that his own flesh and blood could as well? He didn't take it well. He often stayed out late and came back reeking of alcohol.

The two walked a little ways down the lane and came up to a secluded part of the town they lived in. Eileen looked around, and made sure that Severus had a tight hold on his trunk. It wouldn't do for his trunk to end up somewhere bizarre like the Goby Desert. With a spin, Eileen and Severus apparated

And so the world leaders and the Nefari met. At first it was rocky, what with the Nefari's limited understanding of the Earthern Languages, but they were able to overcome this obstruction. It took several months for some kind of agreement to come to pass. Most of the Nefari's wishes were favourable to the Human Race, but they were still nervous about signing any kind of deal with an alien race. Hollywood had made too many Alien Invasion Movies.

During this issue, the Wizards and Witches of the Magical World were going through their own crisis. Not owning televisions, and no radios for the Nefari to transmit their message to them, the magical race was in a state of panic, many believing that the ships were demons summoned by dark wizards and necromancers. Several Muggle-borns and Half Bloods who owned televisions had tried to keep the peace in recording the message and playing it to the Wizengamot, but the purebloods refused to believe that the ships were the creations of creatures from other planets, and that they were there in peace.

The Aurors and Hit Wizards had even started a new line of law enforcement, which could only be the wizarding equivalent of the muggle army. They were called Battle Mages, and were trained in the scenario of the 'demons' attacking the magical world. Thankfully, the Battle Mages were only used once, but the one and only use was what caused the Magical World to collapse like the pants of a stand-up comedian. During the final meetings, groups of Nefari had taken to roaming the planet to meet with the Humans and get an understanding. A Pureblooded man who was passing a shopping centre to get to the bathrooms that would lead to the Ministry had spotted a group of Nefari and instantly called in the Battle Mages, which ended in a battle right in the middle of the mall, killing four muggles and one Nefari. Not only had the Muggles all seen this, but as had the Nefari.

They were furious that the muggle leaders had failed to tell them about the 'dangerous and unstable' mana-users. The World Leaders had protested, saying that the wizards and witches had been hiding for years in fear of the old witch hunting being brought up again, and that they were generally behind the times. For the next year, the Nefari had refrained from coming down to the surface, and only came down for meetings, all of which were quite awkward. The Nefari had requested that the Mana-Users (or, as they refered to them as, Spiritual Energy Users) become world known, as they felt uncomfortable making deals with a planet that was divided among itself. The World Leaders had agreed readily, by now realising how important making an alliance with the Nefari could be. Along with this, they also combined all the governments into a single one, known as the Terran Republic.

Of course, it took a while for the world to come to grips with the existance of magical creatures and wizards and witches, but after another year, they were able to deal with it and go on with their lives. When all problems were smoothed over, the final signing with the Nefari was done and the alliance was official. The Battle Mages were disbanded, as their only reason for existing was to fight the Nefari, and the Ministries of Magic were absorbed into the Terran Republic, becoming more of a separate culture then a different subrace of humans.

With the introduction of new technologies, most of them including stronger materials, better medicine, holo-screens, touch screens, virtual reality and the concept of Orbital Cities, came new ways of using magic, as taught by the Spiritual Energy Warriors of Nefari Kita. Soon enough, wands become obsolete and was only used for more delicate spells, like healing and crystal-crafting. Spiritual Circlets had become the norm, and was a favourite among younger wizards and witches, or magi as they preferred to be called after the term was coined by a First Generation Wizard. The older generations stuck to their wands though, most still not trusting the Nefari.

Over the years, the Earth changed drastically, with the falling of several cities such as London, San Francisco and Sydney, to be replace with larger, more cleaner cities, all named New London, New Francisco and New Sydney, respectively. After five years, Earths first Orbital City, dubbed Terran City, had been built and launched into orbit piece by piece to be attached to each other with the help of the Nefari. The City was similar to the Nefarian Orbital City, but with more Human Architecture, and it even had its own Diagon Alley, with a Dimensional Doorway in the Terran Gringotts leading to a mass of tunnels under the Australian outback where they kept the gold. Many families moved to Terran City, loving the idea of living among the stars. All this happened between 1971-1980, one of the fastest revolutions that ever happened on Earth.

It's the year 1995, and the date is the 1st of September. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has changed much over the years, being subjected to renovations, extra buildings being put in and several apartment buildings and other stores had been built in Hogsmeade, allowing those who didn't want to live on Campus to rent and live in the town. The school was also renamed to Hogwarts Collegium of the Arcane Arts.

Along with the traditional train, several Maglev bus lines connected with the formerly secret school, which is how our main character arrived at the Mighty Castle. Harry James Sirius Remus Potter stepped off the maglev bus, looking around the area. The Maglev Bus arrived at Hogsmeade Station, which allowed for a decent view of the school campus. Hogwarts sat on a large cliff overlooking the Black Lake and casting a shadow over the five additional buildings that dotted the ground and part of the removed forest.

The five buildings were a circular donut-like building made from white stone, a black domed building, kinda like an igloo, two apartments and a large tower with a telescope at the top. Harry grabbed his suit-case sized trunk and bag from the Maglev train's compartment and headed off up the trail towards the castle. As he got closer he noticed that several people were already wandering around the grounds. Several of them weren't even fully human. About a third were Nefari, and another third were Hybridized humans. He even saw a Centaur girl reading a novel under a massive tree that had tentacles for branches.

Harry considered himself to be a pretty normal human, what with his jet-black hair, green eyes and lean frame. He was wearing a blue t-shirt with black jeans and a light blue flannel shirt over the t-shirt. He had boots on and a four-point star necklace around his neck. So it was a bit of a shock when a chinese man shot by on a hoverboard. Harry stumbled and was about to yell out when the guy turned around and came back.

"Hey man, sorry about that. Didn't see you there" the man said. Harry blinked when he noticed the man's ears. They were on-top his head and shaped like a cats. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and two tails in the same colour as his hair. The man was wearing a sweater-vest over a white button up shirt and slacks.

"That's alright. I should've been watching where I've been going" Harry said, shrugging.

"Nah, I only just got this baby, so I should have checked if anyone was in my path. I'm Frangja'Dera'sha Neh'Gara'teth-Lee, but you can call be Frank." the man said, grinning and showing two pairs of sharp canines, both situated next to each other.

"I'm Harry Potter. Do you know where Gryffindor Boys Dorms are?" Harry asked, having already knew what dorm he was in from the online Sorting Quiz. He had a map, but it was really confusing and in need of some major updates. For one thing, there was still an Astronomy tower on the map, when it had been destroyed when two wizards had gotten into a massive mage battle and did a number on the school. It was because of them that the Great Hall had new floors and most of the common rooms were in new areas. Except for Slytherin, that was still in the Dungeons.

"Yeah, man, I'm in the Gryffindor Dorm as well, just follow me" Frank said, stepping onto his hoverboard and setting off on a slower pace. As Harry followed the strange Hybrid boy, he looked around the castle grounds, marvelling at how different it was to Harry's dads childhood days at school. Back when Wizards and Magic was still secret, the castle was really different, with only the castle and gameskeepers hut on the grounds. There was also only human wizards and witches, and hardly any hybrids. Harry found it hard to visualize a school with only humans. He'd gone to school with Nefari and Hybrid's since he was in kindergarten.

He remembered this half pixie girl he used to have a crush on. Sure, she was half his height, even at 10 (Harry was 10 as well, before anyone gets the wrong idea), but she was a cutie. The two boys entered the castle and found a bunch of students lining up for class selection. Around the Entrance Hall were several desks with signs reading different classes. Harry spotted one called Technomancy and another called Battle Magecraft.

"Uh, Battle Magecraft?" he asked, looking at Frank nervously.

"Hmm? Oh, that class is for those who want to go into the Armed Forces for the Terran Republic. Most just take it because of the increase in Anti-Nefari terrorism" Frank said, calmly, though Harry noticed the chinese boys hair on his neck and tail spike up slightly. Harry stayed silent, and continued to follow Frank through the winding halls and hidden passageways. Finally, they arrived at a pair of double doors with a lion above it. Frank and Harry opened the doors and walked into a circular lobby with several padded couches surrounding a roaring fire at one end, along with a pool table and a pinball machine. Exactly right across from the door was a U shaped desk with a young woman sitting and typing on a laptop computer. Harry was interested to see it was one of the newer ones with the holographic screen. She had Privacy on, which meant you couldn't see a reversed version of what she was doing on the screen.

"Hey, Hermione! We got ourselves another lost firstie!" Frank hollered. The girl looked up and Harry was able to get a clear view of her. She was quite pretty, in a bookish way, and had brown eyes, brown fizzy hair tied into a messy pony-tail and was wearing a conservative pair of slacks, white blouse and red scarf.

"Frangja'Dera'sa! Don't be so mean to the new students. Hello, I'm Hermione Granger, head of the Student Alumni for Gryffindor. Have you got your ID yet?" She asked, smiling sweetly at Harry. Harry nodded and pulled the Hogwarts ID Card from his wallet and handed it to the girl. She nodded and scanned the barcode, which caused a pair of keys to materialize. She handed them to Harry.

"You're in room 231, sadly you're with this idiot" She said, jerking her head at Frank.

"Hey, I'm not an idiot! And did you end my name in Sa?! I'm legally an adult on Nefari Kita! End my name with Sha dammit!" Frank whined, stamping his feet and pouting.

"I'll acknowledge you being a man when you act like it" she said, sniffing, but Harry could see the glimmer of amusement in her eye. From Harry's short lessons in Basic Nefari, he knew that Sa and Sha at the end of someones name was a indicator of age. Sa was Nefari for boy, and Sha was Man.

"Whatever you say, Boigra'seth" Frank said, grinning smugly at the girl. She glared and sputtered her outrage as the Hybrid led Harry over to the elevator next to the desk. Once in, and on the way up to the second floor, Harry turned to his new roommate.

"What did you call her? And did you know I was going to be in the same room as you?" asked Harry. Frank grinned a little, showing off his sharp teeth even more.

"I called her an Undeveloped Girl, and I used a scrying spell to find you. Never had a firstie on the second floor. This year should be interesting" Frank said, pulling a packet of mints from his pocket and popping one in his mouth. The Elevator dinged and opened up, showing a long hallway lined with doors and posters. Harry noticed that the edges of the floor were lined with dust and old crisp packets. Frank noticed Harry's eyes wandering over the rubbish and shrugged.

"The cleaners went on strike after some now third years threw a party and trashed this corridor. Now we have to clean up after ourselves. Come on, our room's up here" Frank said, leading the way past several doors and coming to one labelled 231, along with several biohazard signs and a nuclear sticker. Harry looked at Frank, and he just grinned.

"Those belong to the other person rooming with me. You'll like him, his name's..." Frank was interrupted when the door was flung open, showing a tall built teen with flaming red hair, blue eyes and pale freckled skin.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" the teen announced, grinning at the two of them. Harry blinked and tried to figure out a way to answer to that.

"Uh, hi, I'm Harry Potter" he said. Ronald Weasley grinned.

"Nice to meet you, just so you know, me and Frank are roomies, and you have a room to yourself. You were meant to get a roommate as well, but he never showed up. Oh well!" Ron said, moving back and allowing them entrance. Inside, was what looked like a living room with a couch, two armchairs, a TV, DVD player, bookshelf and a stack of old pizza boxes in a corner. There were three doors, one open and showing a bathroom with a toilet, shower/bath and sink. The other two were obviously the bedrooms. Harry went into the one with his name on it, and found a pair of beds on different sides of the room, two desks, a bookshelf and an enchanted window that allowed him to view different places. Harry dropped his luggage at the foot of his bed and sat down, smiling at how soft it was.

"Yeah, this year'll be interesting" Harry said, smiling.

"Damn right it will. What classes do you plan on taking?" asked Ron, ambling into the room.

"I don't really know. We didn't learn much magecraft in High School, mostly the history of it and mundane subjects. What classes are there?" asked Harry.

"Let's see... the basic magecraft disciplines they teach here are Sorcery, Elementalism, Summoning, Illusion, Transmutation, Divination, Travel Magic, Battle Magic, Technomancy, Healing and a few others I'm not so sure of" Ron said, shrugging.

"What about mundane classes?" asked Harry, unpacking a bundle of socks from his undersized trunk (which proved to be bigger on the inside) and putting them into a chest of drawers.

"I'm not too sure of those. I'm a Magecraft Major, so I don't know much of Mundane Classes." Ron said, shrugging. Frank walked in, eating a packet of crisps.

"They got all the classes you have in a normal college. After the Reveal, Magical and Mundane education became way more extensive, due to the increase of job opputunities what with space travel becoming possible years in advance thanks to the Nefari" Frank said, munching a crisp. From the packet's name, it was apparently Seasoned Vorgle-Fruit flavoured. Harry had tried Vorgle-Fruit, it was a hybridized fruit created by mixing an orange with a spiny sour fruit from Nefari Kita. It was okay, but not his favourite.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'years in advance'?" asked Ron, lifting an eyebrow.

"Schematics show, that if the Nefari never found Earth, we wouldn't be capable of living in the stars until at least 2100. That's nearly a hundred years of technology given to us by the Nefari, and all in return we gave them penicilum and theories on cross-species genetics that resulted in yours truly!" Frank finished, once again speaking without breathing.

Harry questioned him on this.

"Harry my boy, in Hogwarts Collegium of the Arcane Arts, you don't have time to breathe" Frank said, grinning widely. Harry gulped.

The three of them ended up leaving Gryffindor Dorms to tour around the grounds. Frank and Ron naturally lead the way. They decided to leave the actual school for later. First, they went to the Battle Dome, which was the large black igloo. Inside, it was dark with rows of metal girders lining the room, each with four spot-lights attached. The back-end of the Dome held a stage with markings on it similar to those on a foot-ball field, but with circles at each-end with arcane symbols etched in the middle.

"What's the Battle Dome for?" asked Harry, frowning a bit.

"Ah, it's a way for us humans to reconnect with our wizarding roots. Basically ever other Friday we can challenge other students to duels, where we can settle issues instead of cursing each other in the halls and causing damage. The first Battle is next Friday" Ron explained, putting a hand to his heart. Harry smirked and shook his head.

The next place they went to was the large circular white building. According to Frank, this was the Chemistry, Alchemy, Biology and Physics building. Apparently, the Alchemy class was held closer to the middle where a small garden grew in the hole that gave the building it's donut-like appearance.

Next up were the two apartment buildings. They were for those who didn't get along with those in their original house. The one on the left, named Venus was for the ladies, and the one on the right, named Mars, was for the men. They were old victorian style buildings with lanterns hanging outside the doors, which were currently filled with a type of shifting flame. Kind of like a small star that changed colors. Harry had never seen a flame like that, and asked the two older students about it.

"That's Feign-Fire. Don't get it confused with Fiend-Fyre, unlike the destructive spell that unleashed demonic hell-fire, Feign-Fire is quite harmless, mostly giving off light and rarely heat. If you smashed that lantern on a pool of gasoline, the light would go out" Frank explained, grinning at Harry. Harry felt unnerved by the sharp fangs and felt sorry for anyone who dated the hybrid.

Next up was the large observitory-style building. It was also the most odd one. It seemed to made out a reflective black rock, and as Harry stared at his reflection, he immediately noticed that his colours were inverted.

"Freaky..." Harry muttered, looking up at the massive telescope sticking out of the top. It looked very old and very steampunk-ish. The building was about five storey's tall, with windows dotting the diameter, and was about as wide as four of the Gamekeepers huts bunched together, gradually getting slimmer as it got higher, similar to a lighthouse.

"Welcome... to the Observatory!" Ron said dramatically, throwing his hands up. Lightning crackled and thunder boomed, causing several people nearby to scream. Harry lifted an eyebrow at the red-headed mage. "Sorry, I couldn't resist" he said sheepishly. Harry rolled his eyes as a girl nearby ran by, her skirt on fire. Ron followed the girl's path with a sheepish smile.

"Err, she was like that when we got here. You all saw it!" He said, pointing into the air. Frank rubbed his forehead tiredly. The three suite-mates walked into the observatory to have a look inside. Compared to the outside, the inside looked relatively normal. Harry would have described it as being bigger on the inside. Several classrooms lined each side of the room, and at the end was an elevator.

"Along with these buildings, with have the Foreboding Forest, the castle and the Black Lake" Frank said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. By now, it was getting dark and the other students who had chosen to take the train were due to arrive in a bit.

"We better go get changed for the feast. And quick. The best seats get filled up quick!" Ron said, looking at his watch. They headed back to Gryffindor Dorms, where a blue-eyed girl with snakes for hair was manning the desk. Hermione must have left to get changed as well.

_A/N:_

_Okay, this is quite different from the original. Now, Frank is a year older then Harry, and Harry will not meet Heidi and Susan for a bit. The whole, 'Hogwarts getting destroyed by two douches fighting' was better then an Alchemy Incident. Plus it allowed me to add a few new buildings. There will be new classes, new characters and a lot of changes will need to be made. I hope people don't mind the mix of Mundane and Magical Technology. _

_If anyone notices any similaries to an original fiction writers story 'Magicademy', I was inspired by the author, and I apologize if he finds me using certain aspects annoying. They are only little things borrowed to add a bit more meat to the story, so I'm not just following canon word for word with a few bits and bobs chucked in for fun-sakes. _

_Also, I decided to add translations and whatnot at the end of the chapters for any Nefari Words you may not have figured out on your own. _

_**Names:**_

Dyst (Star) 'Vik (Gazer) 'sa/sha (Boy/Man) Guth ( 'Jenk'teth

_Coming up Next, Harry signs up for his classes, and meets an oddball._

_Yours Anonymously:_

_Needles._


	2. The Opening Feast and a Mage Battle

**Name: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville.

**Pairings: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognise. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

Whatever Harry was expecting when he got to the Feast, it wasn't this.

The Great Hall, due to some heavy repairs and remodelling being done after the Great Mage Battle of 1990, was a massive warehouse sized room with three floors, one on the ground and two more on wooden horse-shoe shaped stages that stretched around the walls. Due to the increase in students what with members of the Nefari moving to Earth and several magical races gaining rights and the new title 'Magical Being' instead of Magical Creature, the board of governors found they needed more room for students to sit, and so used the GMB as an excuse to remodel.

Candles floated in the air above the dozens of round tables on the ground floor, and a tinkling chandelier lit the upper floors with enough light to eat. Despite being higher up, the students that chose to sit in the upper levels could still see the Headmaster when he gave his announcements.

"This is insane." Harry muttered, looking around at the hall, which already had different students sitting in there, not all of them Human. He saw Nefarian students, humans, dwarves, goblins, a few centaurs and a large group of what looked like smooth-skinned dwarves sitting at a table in the corner tinkering with several complex machines. Every now and then an explosion would sound and smoke would rise from their group, followed by an insane cackle.

"What are those?" asked Harry, pointing. Frank pushed his new suitemates hand down.

"No pointing. Those are Gnomes. Technological geniuses and most of them clinically insane. They're related to Dwarves." Frank said, craning his neck around and obviously looking for someone.

"Aren't Gnomes those little potato creatures that destroy gardens?" asked Harry.

"No, those are Gnohms, they couldn't escape a cage made out of twigs." Ron said, picking up a menu from a nearby table and drooling over the options. Frank took it off him and cleaned it with a wave of his hand, before putting it back. Harry, Frank and Ron found a table as far away as possible from the tinkering gnomes. Next to them was a single student, sitting very quietly and curled up. She had very dark skin, and pearly white hair. As she shifted, Harry spotted a long slender pointed ear.

"Shadow Elf. Not very sociable. It's rare to see one at Hogwarts" Frank said, sitting down and picking up his menu, flipping through the seemingly endless pages.

"Why's that?" asked Harry.

"Well, Shadow Elves are nocturnal, and Hogwarts is mostly a daytime school. Miss Shadow Elf over there must have adjusted her own body clock to stay awake during the day." Ron said, leaning back in his chair. One after the other, students of all races and species came walking through the large double doors, some rushing to find tables on the bottom floor, and others heading straight for the stairs leading to the upper floors.

As this happened, the faculty also came out from side doors at the end of the hall and sat down in their specific chairs. From left to right was a tall man with black hair and a hooked nose, a pale thin man with a purple turban, a tall severe woman with her hair in a tight bun, a very short man with a goatee, a black and white furred nefari woman, a tall woman with long ears and skin the colour of oak wood, a short dumpy woman who seemed to have a cherry bush growing out of her back, a thin woman covered in shawls and beads with glasses that gave her the appearance of a giant stick-insect, a short dwarf with brown matted hair and beard and wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses, a man with spiked hair that seemed to be throwing off electricity and sitting in the middle of all these people was a tall man with a long white beard and half-moon glasses over electric blue eyes. He was also wearing the most outrageous wizards robes.

"Okay, my wierdness level has just exceeded it's limit" Harry said, shaking his head. Frank patted him on the back sympathetically.

"Settle down! Settle down!" the white bearded man called out. Everyone continued to talk excitedly. He tried to yell out again, but everyone ignored him. With a grunt, the man put his wrinkled hand to his throat, causing it to glow red, before belching loudly. The sound echoed around the hall, bouncing off the walls and silencing the crowd.

"Welcome! To another year at Hogwarts Collegium of the Arcane Arts! It is a joy to see so many familiar faces joining us once again for another year, and also the many new ones. There is time for introductions and notices, but that time is not now. Tuck in!"

Harry shook his head and looked around as everyone picked up menus off the table and spoke the foods they wanted. The food appeared in pillars of light, and Harry grabbed his own menu and ordered a full roasted beef dinner with a glass of cola on the side and a basket of bread for the table. The food appeared and Harry tucked in.

After dinner, the old man, who was identified as Albus Dumbledore, stood up again and raised his hands.

"Just a few notices for now. The first, is that the Third Floor Corridor is out of bounds for anyone who do not wish to die a horrible and painful death, and the second is that we have a new Battle Magecraft professor joining us, Professor Quirius Quirrel" Dumbledore said, gesturing toward the man with the turban.

After the first week of life at Hogwarts, Harry began to get into a routine. He'd wake up every morning, dodging various pranking spells that Frank had left out for him, before having a shower, getting dressed into his usual outfit (crimson t-shirt with the symbol for the Fantastic Four, blue jeans and black and white sneakers. He wore his brace on his right arm and a silver watch on his left wrist.) and walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast with Frank and Ron. At Hogwarts, the first week is used to get used to waking up earlier, and also to meet and socialize with their fellow students. It was a strong belief by Dumbledore that a social life was critical to surviving life after college. Harry had already become friendly with several people in his house, including Ron's little sister Ginevra Weasley, Hermione Granger, a wood-elf/human hybrid named Crystal and had tried to strike up a conversation with the Shadow Elf from the Feast, but she had dived into a statues shadow and vanished.

"You know, you never told us where you came from" Frank said as he spooned cereal into his mouth. Harry paused in chewing his bacon, before swallowing.

"Why would you like to know?"

"No reason. Just curious is all."

"I'd rather not tell..." Harry said, turning away to watch a bunch of dwarves argue over their favourite ale. The argument rose until one of the dwarves pulled a hammer out from his belt and slammed it onto the head of another dwarf. A full on Great Hall Brawl broke out among the burly scottish people. Several of the teachers ran down from the head-table to break up the fight.

"Does this always happen?" asked Harry, nodding at the fight. Frank looked over, seemingly only just noticing.

"Hmm. Yeah, at least every second day. Dwarves have a short temper above the ground. They say the fresh air makes them antsy" Frank said, sipping his orange juice.

"Doesn't fresh air usually calm people?" asked Harry, cutting up his eggs.

"Not dwarves. Dwarves are magical beings born from rock and mud, literally. They spent their entire lives underground until the Reveal, and it took them nearly five years to actually leave their caves and join the community. That's why they live underground instead of in the dorms. That's why you'll never see a Dwarf in Gryffindor Dorms." Frank answered, shrugging slightly.

"What do you mean 'born from rock and mud'? Don't they reproduce like us?" asked Harry. Frank snorted into his juice.

"Let's just say, a dwarven honeymoon is more akin to a mud wrestling match. Wink-wink, nudge nudge" said Ron, grinning widely. Harry shuddered slightly and pushed his plate away.

"Thanks for the mental image, guys"

"You asked."

Soon after, on the next Friday, the fortnightly Mage Battles began. Harry was relaxing in the suite with Frank and Ron, when there was a knock on the door.

"Ah! That's Susan!" Frank said, jumping up and smoothing down his spiked blonde hair. Ron rolled his eyes at his asian friends antics.

"He fancies her" Ron stage-whispered to Harry, who grinned slightly.

"Quiet pest" Frank said, walking over to the door. He opened it wide, his arms out in greeting.

"Susan..." his face fell as he noticed the second person, "... and Heidi. How nice to see you!" Frank said, his face fixed in a smile. In the doorway stood two girls, who looked rather like twins, except the one on the left was shorter and had blue eyes instead of brown. Judging by the raised eyebrow and smirk on the taller girls face, Harry assumed she was Susan, and the shorter one was Heidi. Susan was wearing a white button-up shirt with a black skirt with a thin almost transparent black coat over her shoulders. She was wearing tanned boots that reacher her knees, an outfit that would look sluttish on any other girl, but on her seemed to work.

The other girl, Heidi, was a surprise. She wore a black tank-top with a skull and cross bones on it, black jeans (complete with rips in the knees), black boots and fingherless gloves that had small flames dancing around the fingers. She had several spiked bands on her arm, and was wearing black lipstick and white foundation. She also had two earrings in each ear. Judging by the same hair colour. They were sisters.

"Nice to see you too, Frank. Ready to go to the Battle?" Susan asked, smiling at her friend.

"Certainly. May I speak with you, quickly?" he asked, pulling her aside. They went to Frank's room, and closed the door. Even though the Dormitory doors were warded to keep sound in, they heard raised voices coming from inside.

"Uh, did I miss something?" asked Harry, blinking slightly.

"Frangja'Dera'sha doesn't like me" Heidi said, walking over and leaning on the wall with her arms crossed. Harry noticed her fingernails were painted black.

"Why?" asked Harry, frowning. She didn't seem so bad, in fact, he knew a few Goth girls back in High School. He even dated one, for a while until she revealed she was into bondage. And not the recieving kind.

"Apparently, I make him nervous. Just because I'm Wiccan and I dress like this, he think's I worship the devil. One, Wiccan's do not worship the devil, we focus on preserving nature through mystical means, and two, this is a style of clothing, very much on it's way to being accepted by the community!" Heidi said, finishing her miniature rant with a red face. She calmed down to see that Harry and Ron were silent, leaning back with wide eyes and pale faces. She scoffed and went outside the suite, telling them to let her sister know she was waiting outside.

Several minutes later, Frank and Susan came out of the room red faced and breathing heavily, obviously done with their shouting match.

"So... Mage Battles anyone?" asked Frank, smiling charmingly.

The Mage Battles were apparently very popular, since about half of the school population was crammed into the Battle Dome. There were so many people, that the staff running the event (Filius Flitwick from the Sorcery Department, Tyrande Whisperwind from the Illusion Department and Albus Dumbledore) had activated the Internal Space Expansion Charms, causing the inside to resemble a football field. It was quite mind-boggling the amount of magic being used in one space. Everywhere Harry looked, someone was doing something remarkable. Off to Harry's right, several humans were levitating a cackling gnome between them, like some kind of messed up volleyball tournament. To Harry's left, a dwarf was routinely drinking an unlabled bottle and belching fire. Above the crowd, people were flying around the rafters and setting off fireworks. Harry spotted a pair of red-heads who seemed to be supplying the pyrotechnics in midair.

It was several minutes after he arrived the lights dimmed and everyone quieted down. There was a thud as the gnome was dropped in mid pass. Three spotlights turned on and landed on three figures wearing ancient-looking black robes. It was obvious who they were from the height.

"Welcome... to the fortnightly Mage Battle. Tonight, we have one battle that had been challenged last year, but had never come to fruitition. Please step forward Frangja'Dera'sha Neh'Gara'teth-Lee and accept your medallion" Dumbledore said. A spotlight landed on Frank, and he walked up to the stage. He took the gold medallion from Flitwick and put it on around his neck.

"Please step forward Draco Lucius Malfoy and accept your medallion" A spotlight landed on a blonde boy with slicked back hair and pointed features. He walked up to the stage and nearly snatched the medallion from Whisperwind, giving her a sneer before he slipped it on.

"Assume your chosen forms" Dumbledore said, moving back. Frank went first, and he slipped into a martial arts stance. Blue light and smoke began to surround him as his body glowed. When it faded, Frank was wearing an outfit similar to Goku's outfit from Dragonball Z only it was black on the main outfit with a white undershirt, white belt, white fingerless gloves and white boots. On the left side of his chest was an emblem of a planet surrounded by dense rings. Finally, Frank's hair glowed yellow and stood up on end, hiding his ears. As he opened his eyes, Harry saw they were glowing blue. The Medallion had moved to his belt.

Draco stepped forward and swept his hand up, surrounding it with black lightning and then bringing his fist down. He exploded in a ball of black lightning as he changed. When the lightning dissipated, Draco was now wearing a black wizards robe with a hood that partially covered his face in shadow. His skin was more pale, and he had a belt with a skull as the belt buckle. He wore spiked boots and dark crude gauntlets. He held his hand out and a dark staff flashed into existance in his hand.

"The rules are simple. You will fight until one of your medallion's gems are dark," Dumbledore said, indicating the gems that had appeared in the gold medals, "or until an opponent calls for a forfeit. Begin in 3, 2, 1... GO!"

Frank started off by leaping into the air, higher then any human or nefari, and proved to be smart in this move, as he missed Malfoy's bolt of lightning and landed on the roof, upside down. He sprinted across the ceiling and launched himself off, surrounding himself in blue energy. Malfoy watched Frank until the last second when he vanished with a pop and appeared five feet to the left. Frank slammed into the ground, cracking the stone and scrambling to his feet, his medallion having gone a little dimmer.

Malfoy proceeded to shoot of small bolts of lightning, which Frank was able to deflect with his fists. Frank shot off several blasts of energy, hitting Malfoy a few times but mostly missing. Malfoy spoke an incantation and slammed his staff into the ground, cracking it and sending up ice spikes. Frank countered this by cupping his hands over his mouth and breathing a plume of fire, which melted the ice and also managed to singe Draco's outfit. Harry was satisfied to see that Draco's gem was nearly dark. This was when Draco began to get desperate, sending off random spells without even properly targeting Frank, which allowed the Hybrid to dodge them easily with his enhanced flexibility and stamina. After a series of jumps and flips, Frank charged Draco and kicked him square in the chest, his foot glowing with blue energy. Draco flew back and hit the wall, sliding down. His gem wasn't dark yet, but it was close.

"KAME..." Harry heard Frank say and felt his jaw drop. He wasn't...

"HAME..." He was. Frank was standing in the legendary stance with his hands cupped behind his back, his cupped hands glowing bright blue.

"HAAAA!" Frank shouted, thrusting his hands forward and unleashing an extremely powerful burst of energy that slammed into Draco and sent his Medallion flying off his body, reverting him to his normal form. It bounced a few times before landing gem up. It was dark.

"Frangja'Dera'sha Neh'Gara'teth-Lee wins!" Dumbledore announced. Loud cheering went up, except for where several students in varying shades of green were running to help their classmate up.

Frank's outfit vanished as a swirl of blue energy swept around him. He was grinning widely as he walked down from the stage. Susan tackled him in a hug as soon as he was on their level.

"You did it!" Susan said, grinning. Ron patted his roommate on the back as Heidi stood back and scoffed.

"What just happened?" asked Harry, eyes wide. Frank grinned at green eyed boy and patted him on the back.

"Mage Battle!" Ron and Frank chorused, grinning widely.

After the Mage Battles, Harry, Heidi, Susan, Frank and Ron were sitting in the local Tavern at Hogsmeade. They were sitting at one of the outside tables with Harry sipping a butterbeer slowly. The others had more interesting drinks. Frank was drinking a milkshake made from Wigsillian Org Beast milk and Chocoboid beans, Heidi was drinking black coffee, Susan had a green thick liquid that was smoking ominously and Ron had a 1 litre bottle of coca cola to himself, which he was nursing quietly.

"Uh, is that safe?" asked Harry, pointing at the 1 litre bottle. Ron growled at his finger and Frank chuckled.

"Yeah, Ron always needs a caffeine hit after Mage Battles, even when he isn't fighting in them" Frank said, sipping his milkshake and licking the froth from his lip.

"So, our first free week is almost up. Ready to start learning magic Harry?" asked Susan, smiling. Harry shrugged.

"I guess. I learnt a little magic in high school, just little things you pick up from other kids, so hopefully it shouldn't be too difficult." He said, sipping his butterbeer.

"Well, what classes did you end up taking?" asked Susan, wiping the froth the drink she was nursing. Harry pulled his schedule from his pocket where he had written his classes and what number and letter combination they were.

"I have English, Maths and Science as the Required First Year classes in room 23, room 46 and room 227 respectively, and for my Magecraft classes I have Sorcery 1, Elementalism 1, Technomancy 1, Alchemy 1 and Transmutation 1. I'm considering joining a club as well, if I find one I'm interested in." Harry said.

"If I was you I'd take Battle Magecraft, just in case" Frank said, finishing his milkshake and tossing it into a garbage can ten feet away. "Badoosh!"

"Why?" asked Harry, lifting an eyebrow.

"Haven't you heard about the uprise of Anti-Magical and Anti-Nefari terrosist attacks? Geez, they've gotten so bad, I was REQUIRED to take Battle Magecraft just because I'm both Magical and half Nefari!" Frank said, pulling out a transparent card and swiping it across the sensor on the table, paying for the drinks as he did so.

"I might join the Mid Year class, since I already chose my necessary eight classes. I might drop Maths to take it if I find it too boring" Harry said. Ron and Frank nodded sagely while Susan and Heidi rolled their eyes.

"Lucky you, I'm in your Elementalism class and your Technomancy class" Heidi said, smirking over her coffee.

"Cool. You know much about those subjects?" asked Harry. He spotted Susan beginning to grin at the corner of his eye. He watched as Heidi casually raised a hand and started swirling a plume of fire around her fingers.

"Not much, just a little. You know, just things you pick up in High School" Heidi said with a dark grin.

"Is your old High School still standing, by any chance?" asked Ron. Heidi shot the plume of fire at him, which he dodged. The fire collided with a Fondu dish and sent flaming chocolate everywhere. Frank and Susan stared at the chaos around them.

"Time to leave" they said in unison, before Frank grabbed Harry and Ron and Susan grabbed Heidi. Yellow rings of magic surrounded them and they vanished in a sparkle of light. Harry, Ron and Frank reappeared in their suite and crashed on the floor. Well, Ron and Harry crashed, Frank remained standing.

"First Years" Frank said, shaking his head. Ron looked up, irritated.

"Hey! I'm a Second year!" he snapped. The Hybrid Boy smirked.

"Hard to tell sometimes"

"FRANK!"

_A/N:_

_Some are probably wondering about the mentions of Terrorists. Before you ask, no, they are NOT Death Eaters, at least not fully. No matter how perfect a world we try to make, there will always be resistance to change. There will also always be terrorists are basically those who do no believe that Humans and Nefari should be in contact, and those who do not trust wizards and witches._

_The transparent card is a take on the fact that our currency is slowly becoming digital, and the card was basically a debit card, and paper money and coins has become obsolete, in both the magical and mundane world. Of course, there are those who still weigh their riches in gold, silver and bronze, but they are mostly pureblooded old timers._

_Yours Anonymously,_

_Needles_


	3. Classes, Flight and More Battles

**Name****: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating****: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre****: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings****: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville.

**Pairings****: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognise. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

Over the next few days, Harry heard alot about he famous Neville Longbottom, also known as the Boy Who Lived. Apparently, Neville's home was attacked by the terrorist Lord Voldemort when he was three. Both of his parents were mindwiped and Neville survived the Killing Curse with nothing but a jagged scar on his forehead. Nobody knew what happened that night, but that was the night that Voldemort was turned into a greasy red smear on the wall.

Everybody seemed to talk about Neville in reverence, and it wasn't until Harry actually met him, did he understand why. It was on the way to Transmutation when Harry ran into Neville. Literally. Neville was a tall guy with spiked blonde hair, baby blue eyes and a chiselled chin that would make any man jealous. His jagged scar was on display proudly as he strode through the hall in his bomber jacket, white shirt and blue jeans.

"Oh man, sorry about that. I'm still getting used to the school. Oh, you're Neville Longbottom, aren't you?" asked Harry, grabbing hold of the offered hand and standing up.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. You a first year?" asked Neville, smiling down at Harry. Harry nodded.

"Yep, just started a few days ago. I'm on the second floor of Gryffindor Dorms with Frank and Ron" Harry said, rubbing his hands on the seat of his pants, wiping away any dust.

"Oh yeah, I know those two. Quite the pair. Where you off to, anyway?" asked Neville.

"Oh, Transmutation with McGonagall" Harry said, shrugging and readjusting his shoulder bag.

"Don't get on her bad side, she can get nasty. Well, I better be off, nice meeting you..." Neville trailed off, not knowing the boys name.

"Oh! I'm Harry, Harry Potter" He said, nodding at the Boy Who Lived. Neville nodded and strode off, a hand raised in farewell. Harry wondered for a minute where his bag was, and decided the mage probably had some kind of magical storage device on him. Harry let his mind drift to the castle itself.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step half-way up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely; or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.

The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them suddenly glided through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two loked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Harry was strongly tempted to research a nice powerful exorcism spell. Maybe he'd get a medal for services to the school.

Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry managed to get on his bad side on his very first morning. He completely forgone Frank's warning to avoid the cranky caretaker, and suffered for it. He had been trying to get through a door, which just had to be the forbiddon corridor that Professor Dumbledore had mentioned at the feast. He got a nice mouthful from the caretaker, and managed to escape after an explosion nearby drew Filch's ire. He was around the corner and he could still hear the old man muttering about gnomes.

Filch owned a cat named Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better then anyone (except perhaps the Weasley Twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many (including the Nefari, not liking that a creature that resembled their kind so much could be so shrewd) to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

And then, once you had found them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to intermidiate magecraft, as Harry quickly found out, than flicking your wrist and saying a few funny words. Back in High School, most of the spells he did were simple ones that didn't require that much study to master.

The classes he chose, Sorcery, Elementalism, Technomancy, Alchemy and Transmutation, were quite complex and difficult. For his first class, which just so happened to be Transmutation, McGonagall gave the class a stern talking to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Transmutation is some of the most complex and dangerous magecraft you will ever learn at this fine Collegium. Ever since the Reveal, new methods have been found that not only expand the uses for this type of magic, but also include more hazards. For this reason, we will be learning this course thoroughly and carefully. No shortcuts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she waved her hand and turned a small puppy on the desk into a chimeric mix of Dog and Lizard and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they wouldn't be creating any chimeras for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the class, only a nefarian girl called Zeeva Guth-Jenk-teth had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Zeeva a rare smile.

Three times a week, Harry and Heidi attended Elementalism set outdoors with Professor Sprout, where it became clear that the bush that seemed to be growing out of her back was really a tree spirit that had adopted Sprout as its mother. They spent that lesson learning to meditate and listen to nature and feel the wind, the heat, and strength of the earth and the gentle lapping of the lake nearby.

Professor Flitwick, the Sorcery Teacher, was a tiny wizard who had to float above his desk to be able to see them all. He spent that lesson giving a lecture on the uses of Sorcery and how to give their magic form.

The class Harry had been looking forward to was Technomancy, and he wasn't disappointed. The first thing that Harry noticed, was that his class wasn't in the castle nor in any of the other buildings. Rather, it was in an underground hanger-sized garage under the laker. He found the entrance by asking one of the older students, and being directed to a large metal door he didn't notice earlier sticking out of a large hill near the lake. Once inside, they found the classroom was cluttered with bits of machinery, car parts, bike parts and shells of old Nefarian ships. There was even an old WW2 Bomber Plane hanging from the ceiling. There were a row of chairs in the room, but no tables.

"Excuse the lack of tables. They were used by my old class to build a submarine out of wood. Those poor sons of a bitches" a voice said. A young man left the shadows, dressed in a grease stained lab coat, old jeans, an old t-shirt, boots and a pair of goggles on his head. His hair was bright yellow and sparking randomly. Harry noticed his hair was giving off light. His eyes were as dark as obsidian "Just take anything that has a flat surface"

The professor sat down behind a car bonnet that had been removed from the rest of the vehicle. Harry dragged a plane wing from the corner of a room and balanced it using some bricks while everyone got their own random desk.

"Now, welcome to Technomancy 1. My name is Dedric Circuit. In this module, we will be focusing on enchanting and building whimsical and wonderful gadgets. Now, the origins of Technomancy comes from one man, my father Polythemus Circuit, who dreamed of uniting the magical and mundane worlds together with magic and technology combined. After the Great Reveal, he had the oppotunity to follow his dream, and discovered the art of Technomancy. Mostly, it is used to make fomerly dangerous mundane technologies safe and efficient. With Technomancy, we now have several planes, ships and spacecrafts that help protect the planet from any hostile alien life. Fortunetly, we have not been attacked by any hostile life forms, but it is reassuring that they are there. Any questions?" asked Professor Circuit, squinting over at the group. A spark shot off from his hair, and landed on a pile of papers, setting them ablaze. Circuit pressed a button and a small helicopter came over and extinguished the blaze with a burst of water. Heidi Bones raised her hands, and Circuit called her on.

"What's with your hair?" she asked, causing the class to snicker at her boldness. Circuit smiled.

"Oh this? When I first started learning Technomancy, I used a far too strong charge of electricity to supercharge a wardstone. The resulting explosion infused my hair with a electrical/magical mixture. My hair has become a wardstone that stops fire-based spells and levitation spells from affecting me. The reason for this is that my hair projects an invisible field around me that zaps any flames that come into contact with it. Levitation spells do not work because my field can disrupt the electromagnetic frequency that make up most spells like Wingardian Leviosa and Levicorpus. Any other questions?" said Circuit. Everybody sounded impressed, and Harry could tell the rest of the year will be quite the treat.

Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. There was so much to learn, that not even Heidi Bones had a head start.

Friday was an important day for Harry. He finally managed to find his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. As Harry realised it was Friday, he wondered when he'd learn enough to fight in a Mage Battle.

"What have you got today?" Harry asked Frank as he cut up a rare looking steak.

"I got double Battle Magecraft," Frank said, before looking at Harry's schedule and wincing. "Ouch, you have Double Alchemy with the Slytherins. Snape's Head of Slytherin. They say he always favors them - you'll be able to see for yourself and tell me if it's true"

"Wish McGonagall favored us," said Ron. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

Just then, the mail arrived. Harry hadn't gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred living and mechanical avians had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.

A certain silvery owl fluttered down and landed on the table next to his plate. This was Hedwig, a enchanted clockwork owl his father had created for him when he was a toddler. She was modelled after a female snowy owl and looked very steam-punkish, complete with a funnel on her back that spewed white steam for no discernable reason. She was programmed with artificial intelligence, and was given a speech circuit on Harry's tenth birthday.

"Good Morning Master Harry!" Hedwig said, her voice sounding like a middle-aged woman.

"Morning Hedwig. Anything for me today?" asked Harry, popping a piece of bacon into his mouth. Hedwig seemed to tut at the salty and oily breakfast item.

"Yes, from a man named Hagrid." Hedwig said, and dropped a small letter onto his plate. Harry picked it up and opened it.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?_

_I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. _

_Hagrid_  
_Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts_

_P.S. A very impressive MechOwl_

"What did Hagrid want?" asked Frank, who had finished his steak and was drinking deeply from his water goblet.

"Wants to have tea at three. Wanna come? You can invite Susan if you want" Harry said, taking a pen out of his bag. Frank shrugged, and Harry took that as a yes. He scribbled on the back of the letter _Yes please, and I might bring some friends. See you then. _and gave it to Hedwig, who clutched it in her metal talons and flew off.

It was lucky that Harry had tea with the gamekeeper to look forward to, because the Alchemy lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.

At the start-of-term dinner, Harry had gotten the impression that Snape disliked him, judging from the scowls he got from the man. By the end of the first Alchemy lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry - he hated him.

Alchemy lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. As he entered the room, a foot stuck out into the aisle and tripped Harry, sending him to the ground. A blonde boy sniggered slightly, and Harry couldn't help but feel he'd met him before. He gave the boy a glare and went to sit next to Zeeva from Transmutation. Harry jumped along with everyone else when the door banged open and the tall dark and greasy form of Severus Snape glided into the room.

He then proceeded to do the roll call and stopped at Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. The son of Police Chief Potter... quite the honor"

The blonde boy and his friends sniggered quietly behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Professor Circuit, but had none of the excitment and cheerful warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of Potion Making, or Alchemy as the Terran Republic feels the need to call it these days," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand or hand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the sense... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't a big bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry glanced at Zeeva and noticed she was on the edge of her seat and raising her hand. Snape looked at her.

"Yes, Miss Guth'Jenk'teth?" he asked, sneering a little at her. The alien girl smiled at him.

"Sir, are we going to be learning how to use Potions to enchant and disenchant magical objects?" she asked. Snape thought about it for a second.

"We will be learning this in your sixth year, but for now we will stick to basic potions. Potter!" said Snape suddenly, making Zeeva jump. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Uh, I think this was on Potioneering with the Stars last month... Uh... I think it makes the Draught of the Living Death" Harry said, hoping he got it right.

"Potter, how would you go about collecting a bezoar?" Snape asked, his lip curling into a sneer. Harry blinked.

"Do you want the traditional or modern way?"

"Either one Potter!"

"Uh, well, the way my Dad gets them is to feed our pet Goats with oats boiled in an Enchanting mixture, which speeds up the development of a bezoar by ten days. We then use a switching spell to switch the bezoar with fresh water" Harry said. Snape twitched a little.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkswood and wolfbane?" asked Snape.

"Nothing. They're the same plant right?" asked Harry, smiling a little. Snape looked a little red in the face, and he turned to the rest of the class.

"Well? Why aren't any of you copying this down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for notebooks and pens. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter"

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Alchemy lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixingup a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around the room in his long black cloak watching them eigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing the Gryffindor (sans Zeeva for some odd reason) and praising the Slytherins. Harry found out that the blonde boy was Mercutio Malfoy, the younger brother of Draco Malfoy. Snape was just talling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy Jr had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Tyrande Woodwind, a Wood Elf, had somehow managed to melt Godric Bronzehammer's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in peoples shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Tyrande and Godric got into a heated argument.

"YEH CLUMSY TWIG! I TOL' YEH TO WAIT TO UNTIL I TOO' THE CULDRON OFF THE HEAT!" Shouted Godric, his wrinkled face crumpled in anger. Tyrande glared at the little dwarf.

"Well, if I'm a twig, that makes you a stump! And dumb as one as well" Tyrande said, folding her wood-coloured arms.

"ENOUGH!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his hand. Next to the dwarf and elf, a Nefarian girl that Harry didn't know whimpered as boils started to pop up all over her flat nose.

"Take her up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Ginny Weasley, who just so happened to have been in that class. Then he rounded on Harry and Zeeva, who had been working next to Godric and Tyrande.

"You - Potter - why didn't you tell them not to add the quills? Being the son of the Police Chief not enough? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Zeeva kicked him behind their cauldron.

"Don't push it," she muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."

As Harry climbed the steps out of the dungeon, Frank hurried over to him and upon seeing his expression, asked him what was wrong. "Cheer up, Snape's always taking points off of Ron's brothers."

At five to three Harry, Ron, Susan and Frank left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and seemed to be the only thing that had never changed after the Reveal. In a paddock off to the side, Harry could see a couple strange creatures grazing. They were built like gorillas, only with scales instead of fur, and four eyes. A pair of bug-like antennae poked from above their upper eyes, and their mouth held three rows of rotating razor sharp teeth. They also walked like a gorilla, but their forelegs and hindlegs ended in hooves that seemed to morph into talons at the last second. Finally, two scorpion like tails arced over their bodies lazily as they eyed the group with lizard-like eyes.

"Oh look! A Wigsillian Org Beast! I wonder how Hagrid got a permit to raise them?" Frank said, smiling at the creatures from Nefari Kita.

Harry shrugged and knocked loudly on the heavy wooden door. They heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then a large hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang!"

He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Frank and started licking his cheek. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

"This is Frank Lee, Ron Weasley and Susan Bones" Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes on to a plate.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest. And Miss Bones! I knew your aunt when she was at Hogwarts, did you get into Hufflepuff as well?"

"Yep, I'm a Hufflepuff through and through." Susan said, bringing a rock cake up to her mouth, but wisely put it down when she noticed Ron and Harry grimacing. Frank was shovelling the cakes down without even chewing. Sometimes, Susan envied her boyfriends ability to eat large quantities of food and not get fat.

Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch 'that old git'.

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang some time. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her - Filch puts her up to it"

"Speaking of hideous creatures, where did you get the heard of Wigsillians outside?" asked Harry, causing Frank and Hagrid to scowl at the description.

"Oh yeh, the 'Ouse Elves were complainin' abou' the quality o' the Org Milk that got imported from Nefari Kita, so Professor Dumbledore got me ah Breeders Permit" Hagrid explained, puffing his chest out in pride.

Harry told Ron, Susan and Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Frank, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.

"But he seemed to really _hate _me."

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"

Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot - great with animals."

Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid about his brothers work in trying to rebuild the dragon population (apparently, before the Reveal, wizards and witches didn't see the fine line between endangered and rare.), Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under a tea cosy. It was a cutting from the _Daily Terran_, the worldwide newspaper:

_GRINGOTTS FIRST NATIONAL BANK BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at the London Branch of Gringotts on the 31st July, widely believed to be the work of Dark Magi or members of the Terran Rebellion._

_Gringotts Goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. _

_"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Goblin spokesperson this afternoon"_

**FLASHBACK**

**A newly turned fifteen year old Harry walked down the street of London, ducking out of the way as a man on a broom shot by him. Harry shook his head slightly and went into Tom's Family Cauldron, the new entrance way for the hidden alley. Many said that Diagon Alley still remained unplottable since the wardstones were so old, they were permanent. Others said that there was a building in Diagon Alley under Fidelus that was hiding the notorious Cursed Dagger, a radical group of Nefari and Mundane Racists that worked against purifying the human race by killing all Hybrids and Nefari they come across. They were the work of many attacks, like the Little Whinging Massacre, the Devon Fire and Fight for Fordshire. They said the magic of the Fidelus was fueling the previously inert wardstones and while the Fidelus stood, the Alley would be hidden from Mundane eyes forever.**

**Harry shook his head of his musings, and continued to the bank known as Gringotts, where his families fortune was currently being held. He passed through the doors into the reception area. Harry didn't feel like actually going down to the vault, so instead he went to one of the ATM's and topped up his Bank Card. The Bank Card was a small translucent card with circuits like veins running across the surface. It worked by keeping a certain amount of digital currency known as Credits. The topping of the card involved paying the same amount of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts in wizarding currency in exchange for the credits. **

**Harry left the bank with his card and went to buy what he needed for his school.**

**END FLASHBACK**

Harry was jerked from his flashback as he felt Susan's hand on his shoulder. I looked over at Susan, who looked a bit worried.

"You okay Harry? You've been staring at that page for a few minutes." Susan said. Harry looked back down at the newspaper clipping, staring at the moving image of the goblins searching a small vault.

"Yeah, just realised that break-in at Gringotts happened on my birthday" Harry said, frowning a little. Ron dropped a rockcake he was inspecting for fault-lines.

"Break-in? But nobody ever robs Gringotts. Usually it's the other way around" Ron said, rubbing his beardless chin thoughtfully. Harry resisted the urge to call the ginger on it, and instead pondered about the people he came across that day. Now that he thought about it, he did see a man wearing a turban that day. But that could have been anyone. It's not that odd to see a Middle Eastern Wizard or Mundane in London these days. Ever since the world governments became one, the Middle East worked hard to smooth out most of the rough patches the terrorist group most affiliated with Iraq had created. Once terraforming technology had been suggested, Middle Eastern Scientists worked with the Nefari to change the Middle East from a hot and desolate desert, into a more habitable place. With most of the heat gone, the Middle East became a much more friendly place. Turns out they were never angry. They were just overheated!

Mercutio Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, was the most rare kind of brother. He did not fight with Draco Malfoy, nor did he loathe him. Instead, he worshipped him and aimed to be JUST like him, and that included latching onto one person and becoming their worst enemy during their entire time at Hogwarts.

Sadly, Harry was that one person. Still, first year Gryffindors only had Potions with Slytherin, so they didn't have to put up with Mercutio much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor dorm lobby which made all the first years groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday - and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

"Typical," said Harry darkly, "Just what I always wanted. To be left on the ground while everyone is flying around. Bet Mercutio would get a laugh about that."

He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.

"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself," Ron said reasonably. "Anyway, you can't do any worse then how I did. First attempt to fly, and I went right into a tree. The sad thing, was that there weren't any trees around!"

Harry had heard a lot of stories about First Year Flight Class. Before the Reveal, the class would be a one day course featuring flight on broomsticks. Ever since the Nefari brought with them Self Levitatioon Magic, Flight Class consisted of them learning how to levitate on the first day, fly laps around the Quidditch Pitch on the second day, and come up with alternatives for flight for fun on the third day. Ron and Frank gave examples of their favourite ways to fly, Ron's consisting of blasting fire at the ground and launching himself like a rocket, while Frank preferred to sprout large blonde feathery wings and use those to fly.

The girl who had gotten the brunt of Godric Bronzehammer and Tyrande Woodwind's failed potion, named Tianna Longbottom'teth, adopted sister of Neville Longbottom, had never flown or been near anything that could fly, on account of her birth parents dying in a malfunctioning Shuttle-Craft inbound from Nefari Kita. Frank and Alice Longbottom ended up pulling her from the wreckage and adopted her into their family, before their untimely mindwipe at the hand of Lord Voldermort. Tianna had a fear of anything that could fly, and understandedly why.

Ariawynn Shadowmoon, the Shadow Elf from the feast, was just as nervous about flying as Tianna was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book - not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast, all the First Year Gryffindors sat at the same table (several tables merged together to make one big enough) and Ariawynn shocked everyone by attempting to bore them to death with several books on flight. Tianna was hanging onto her every word, desperate for anything that would help her get out of the class. But everybody was pleased when Ariawynn's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the post.

Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Mercutio had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's Lethrr'Blakka cross Eagle, or Flethrr'Blakka, was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at his table.

A large owl-like creature with brown feathers, tan spots on its wings and a feathered ridge above its eyes the same colour as the spots brought Tianna a small package from her grandmother. She opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed tp be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" she explained. "Grandmama knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh ..." her whiskers drooped, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "... you've forgotten something ..."

Tianna was trying to remember what she'd forgotten when Mercutio Malfoy, who was passing their table, snatched the Remembrall out of her hand. A clawed hand latched onto his hand and squeezed tightly, causing Mercutio to drop the Remembrall. Tianna catched it and held it to her chest, as her saviour came into view. Frank and Ron stood there, Frank holding Mercutio wrist.

"You alright there, Malfette? You better not be harrassing my kin" Frank said, eyes glowing blue and shackles raised. His tails were whipping about behind him, and he only let go when Professor McGonagall came striding over.

"Mr Malfoy, Mr Neh'Gara'teth-Lee, no unauthorised fights. You want to duel, you make an official challenge" she said curtly, looking over her spectacles. Mercutio rubbed his wrist.

"But Professor, 2nd Years and above can't challenge First Years. Neh'Gara'teth-Lee would have an unfair disadvantage" He said, sneering a little at the Hybrid, who growled softly.

"Enough, Frangja'Dera'sa. Now, what happened here?" she asked.

"Malfoy took my Remembrall and these two stopped them" Tianna said helpfully. McGonagall sent off Malfoy, and Frank sat down with the First Years. "Frangja'Dera'sha? What did you mean by kin. We're not related"

"Please, call me Frank. And while it's true we're not related by blood, we are related in spirit. All Nefari are connected in the Spiritual Plane. Our race are a very close-knit lot, and we have evolved to stick out for each other. Think of us as a Pack Species. Now, I best be off. I have Physics and How They Work with Magecraft. Shakra'Ella'Ley!" he said, bidding goodbye in Nefari. He ran off, followed by Ron.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ginny, Ariawynn, Colin and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps into the grounds for their first Flight Class. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherin's were already there, and seemingly at the head of the year group was Mercutio Malfoy, who was regaling a tale of years racing his brother through the streets of London. On the ground was a bag full of what looked like belts. Harry knew these were Safety Belts, charmed to prevent the wearer from flying too high, and from hitting any other fliers. They were quite old, and Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain that they would fail every now and then and let you go too high, or would cancel out your spell in mid-flight.

They stood around, and waited for their instructer to arrive. After a few minutes, the students began to talk among themselves. Questions like "Where is the teacher?" and "Should we just leave?" floated among the heads like cartoonish speech bubbles, when suddenly they heard a low thudding. Everyone fell silent as the thudding came closer, and clearer to reveal it was the sound of beating wings. It was coming from over the forest, and as the class watched, a winged form came over the treeline. The form landed gracefully and Harry could see that it was a middle-aged woman with grey hair, bird like yellow eyes and a taut face. She wore an outfit that while tasteful, it allowed her to be able to use her large, feathery white wings effectively. The outfit consisted with an open back blue top, white trousers and black boots. On her wrist, she wore a silver brace with a red, blue and gold gem embedded on the back of her hand.

"Welcome to your first Flight Class. Today, we will be focusing on simply levitating, and hopefully if everybody can get it, we can do a couple laps around the perimeter. Now, everyone come get a Safety Belt... yes, no shoving" Madam Hooch said, holding the bag open. Once everyone was wearing a Safety Belt, she told them to stand in two rows, facing each other. Slytherin's on one side, and Gryffindor's on the other.

"Now, in order to fly, we must first concentrate on finding our magic. Any one who has flown before would know how. For those who do not know, our magic, or core as some people would prefer to call it, is where all of our inherent magic comes from. Beside our cores, we also can use the magic from our surroundings, or even from magical weapons. A fine example of this would be The Frost Lord Zygamyst, who used the all-powerful Staff of Frost forged by Frost Dwarves millions of years ago, despite being completely mundane and without magic. To find your cores, close your eyes and feel deep inside of you. After a minute, you should feel a slight tingling warmth." Hooch said. Everyone closed their eyes and concentrated. Most of them looked content, while some looked like they were trying to go to the bathroom. Harry could feel the warmth almost immediatly. He tried to direct it around himself, and gasped when the floor vanished from his feet.

He opened his eyes and stared wide-eyed at the sight before him. Everyone but Ariawynn and Tianna were floating above the ground.

"Come now Longbottom'teth, Shadowmoon, put some feeling into it!" Hooch said, flying above them once again. Perhaps magic responded to fear, since there was a quaver in Tianna's voice that said all too clearly that she preferred to keep both feet on the ground. Ariaynn tried to do it, but all she did was do an odd little hop before falling back tot he ground. Madam Hooch showed them how to steer and gain altitude without looking like a flailing baboon. Harry and the other first year Gryffindor's were ecstatic to learn that Mercutio had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, I want you to rise up, turn in a circle once, and come back down for a smooth landing. Don't be upset if you can't do it at first. Not everybody can master flight. On my whistle - three - two -"

But Tianna, probably nervous about being left on the ground, pushed off the ground hard and shot up like a bullet before the whistle touched Hooch's lips.

"Come back, girl!" she shouted, rising into the air to fetch her, but Tianna seemed to jerk away from the Flying Instructor. Twelve feet - twenty feet. Harry saw Tianna's frightened eyes and shaking form look down at the ground, saw her gasp, and pass out from fright. With most of her brain functions in standby, Tianna's magic cancelled the flight spell, and she began to fall.

WHAM - a thud and a nasty crack and Tianna lay face down on the grass in a heap. The safety belt she was wearing must have broken off and drifted away, because she wasn't wearing it any more.

Madam Hooch was bending over Tianna, her face as white as the girls.

"Broken tail," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, girl - it's all right, up you get."

She turned to the rest of the class.

"None of you is to move while I take this girl to the infirmary! I see a single person in the air and they'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Grav Ball!' Come on, dear"

Tianna, her face tear-streaked, clutching her left tail, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around her and her wings retracted.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Mercutio burst into laughter.

"Did you see her face, the great beast?"

The other Slytherin's joined in, though the one Nefari in the house of snakes walked off to one side with a scowl.

"Shut up, Malfette," snapped Colin Creevey.

"Ooh, stickin' up for Longbottom'teth?" said Broice Grungebeard, a dwarf of the Dark Iron Clan. "Never thought you'd like fat little pussy cats, laddie"

"Look!" said Mercutio, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass, "it's that stupid thing Longbottom'teth's grandmother sent her."

The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Give that here, Mercutio," said Harry quietly, clenching a fist and summoning a plume of fire. Everyone stopped talking to watch. The Malfoy Brother smirked and waggled his finger mockingly.

"Ah, ah, ah, Potter. Best not start a fight outside of Mage Battles. The son of the Police Chief wouldn't want to set a bad example, would he" Mercutio said. Harry gritted his teeth as those who did not know this gasped.

"Give it _here_!" Harry yelled, thrusting out his hand and sending the plume of fire at Mercutio. It grew in size, and Mercutio waved his hand, summoning a wave of water to extinguish the flame.

"Stop Harry! You're not allowed to fight during class!" Ariawynn yelled out, though for her it was more like another person talking normally. Harry ignored her and jerked his fist up, causing the ground underneath Mercutio to shake and crack. Malfoy jumped from the breaking ground and Harry shot another blast of fire at the boy. Once again, Mercutio countered with a wave of water, and sent an icy blast at Harry.

The boy felt the ice crystals pierce his skin and shouted in pain. A green energy surrounded him and he felt the pain vanish. Harry turned to see Ginny Weasley lowering her hand, still glowing a soft green. In the next few seconds, the two year groups broke out into a miniature war. Spells were flying, healing spells were cast and grass was torn up, soaked, singed and turned into quicksand. Due to Elemental Magic being the most simple, most of the students used that. Harry had only just managed to wrestle the Remembrall when there was a blast.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped in an instant, and not because of any spell, but rather because the one who yelled was Professor Minerva McGonagall.

"WHO STARTED THIS?!" She shouted, and from her softly glowing neck, it was apparent she was using a voice amplifier charm. Everyone pointed at Harry and Mercutio as one, the Gryffindor's and the Slytherin Nefari pointing at Mercutio, and the Slytherin's pointing at Harry.

"_Never _- in all my time at Hogwarts -"

Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "- how _dare _you - you could have all killed each other -"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor -"

"Be quiet, Mr Creevey -"

"But Malfoy -"

"That's _enough_, Miss Weasley. Potter, Weasley, Shadowmoon and Creevey, follow me, now"

Harry caught sight of Mercutio, Broice and Gregard's (another Dark Iron dwarf and the twin of Broice) triumphant faces as they left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode towards the castle. He was going to be expelled, and he was dragging his friends with him. He wanted to say something, maybe explain that Ginny, Ariawynn and Colin had nothing to do with this, but he couldn't find his voice. Professor McGonagall as sweeping along without looking at them; they had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes.

Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still McGonagall didn't saying anything. Harry looked at the other three nervously. Ginny's face remained firm, and Colin looked physically sick. Ariawynn was worse. The small amount of confidence she had managed to build up was visibly falling as her face turned grey instead of it's normal black. McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Whisperwind, may I borrow Cane for a moment?"

Cane? thought Harry, bewildered; did they still use canes?

But Cane turned out to be a person, a skinny human fourth year boy who came out of Whisperwind's class looking confused.

"Follow me, you five," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Cane looking curiously at Harry, Ariawynn, Ginny and Colin.

"In here."

Professor McGonagal pointed them into a classroom which was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turnd to face the three boys and two girls.

"Potter, Creevey, Shadowmoon, Weasley, this is Sydney Cane. Cane - I've found you new teammates."

Cane's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "They're all naturals. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time dueling, you four?"

Harry and Colin nodded silently, while Ariawynn and Ginny shook their heads. Harry didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.

"He was able of overcome Mercutio Malfoy in a fight, and we all know how well versed they are in duelling. Only got hit by one attack, and was healed straight away by Miss Weasley. And Shadowmoon used her inherent shadow-morphing abilities to sneak behind the enemies. Creevey is also well-versed in Transmutation, animating a nearby gargoyle without even realising it!"

"I did?" asked Colin, looking around confusedly.

Cane was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.

"Ever seen a Mage Battle, you four?" he asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor Battle Team," Professor McGonagal explained.

"Their just what I need, too," said Cane, now walking around the group and staring at them. Ariawynn blushed under his scrutiny. He pointed at Harry, "An Elementalist," nodded at Ariawynn, "A Shadowmancer," he pointed at Colin, "A Transmutator," finally, he looked at Ginny for a minute, "and a Healer".

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can bend the first year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. _Flattened _in that last battle by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..."

McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry, Ginny, Ariawynn and Colin.

"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."

Then she suddenly smiled.

"Your mother would have been proud," she said. "She was one of the founders of Mage Battle, you know."

_A/N: CHAPTER THREE! In this chapter we have thrills, chills and spells! (See what I did there?). Fear not, Quidditch still exists, and for those wondering about Grav Ball, it was originally my replacement for the game Harry joins, but I changed to a Tournament Based Mage Battle Team. I decided to keep it there as background material. Maybe I'll add in a small omake about Harry attending a Grav Ball Game. Anyone who plays and watches Final Fantasy, will know what it is. _

_As for the titles given to Harry, Ariawynn, Colin and Ginny, in this time and age, there are several different classes of magic-user, based on their proficiency and skill. New ones are being invented everyday, due to everyone being different and everyone having different combinations of magic._

_Here are some examples of classes._

_**Elementalist/Elementress: **__A Wizard or Witch who uses the forces of nature to fight. They uses the elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water, as well as several sub-elements. In this class, are four sub-classes: Pyromancer, Aquamancer, Terramancer and Aeromancer. Users identified so far are Harry Potter and Mercutio Malfoy. _

_**Shadowmancer: **__Shadowmancer's are neither dark nor light, but rather a shade of grey. Hey control Shadows, and work hand-in-hand with Healers and Paladins. They can teleport through shadows, empower themselves with darkness and are normally capable of seeing in the dark. Shadow Elves are naturally Shadowmancer's, and so far Ariawynn is the only Shadowmancer in Gryffindor. Slytherin holds an alarming amount of Shadowmancers._

_**Transmutator: **__A Witch or Wizard who is proficient in turning one thing into another, and even bringing objects to life. They are usually the first of all classes to Apparate, using the act of replacing their own bodies with the air of another place instead of bending the fabric of reality to move from one place to another, as is normal. Usually, when Transmutator's apparate, they leave behind the scent of their destination, leaving them easy to track._

_**Healer: **__Healer's are usually young girls never touched by the hands of a man, and by that rule are pure of heart. They can heal injuries and manipulate light itself. As the Healer gets older, they can choose whether to keep their current class or take another one. If they choose to be Healer's, they are promising themselves to never be with a man intimately, and thus remain pure until the day they die. _

_**Technomancer: **__Technomancer's are wizards who use their magic to empower and create magnificent machines to help them in their fights and daily lives. Technomancer's are usually very smart, and are often described as eccentric and a little crazy. Gnome's are naturally Technomancer's, as well as Bilgewater Goblins. The most popular Technomancer known so far is Dedric Circuit, the son of Polythemus Circuit, the original Technomancer. _


	4. Harry VS Mercutio! Also, TROLL!

**Name****: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating****: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre****: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings****: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville, Futuristic 90s.

**Pairings****: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognize. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

"You're kidding!" Frank nearly yelled. Harry shushed his friend by stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth. Frank started to choke when he tried to talk around the offending food item. He finally got his brain working enough to pull the bread out. "You were given your class? But, but Magi aren't given their class until their fifth year! You must be the youngest Proclaimed in about…"

"Twenty years, my mother was the founder of Mage Battle and one of the first Proclaimed Magi, along with my Dad, Uncle Sirius, Uncle Moony and Snape" Harry explained. Frank was so astonished, so amazed that he started chuckling.

"Dude, only the son of Police Chief Potter would do this" He chortled. Harry rolled his eyes. Ever since Snape's 'Slip-Up' in Alchemy, Harry has had to deal with the stares and whispers. His father was known by many as the 'Lone Auror', known for taking entire Death Eater raids into his own hands and risking his life to take down the agents of Voldemort. Harry knew this was because Voldemort had murdered his mother.

"Shut up. It's bad enough Snape ratted me out, the git" Harry growled, stabbing his fork into his sausages. It was lunchtime, and Harry had just finished explaining what had happened at Flying Lessons.

"Whoa, Malfette incoming" Frank said, nodding behind Harry. The Son of the Police Chief groaned again.

"Having your last meal, Potter? I bet you'll be on the next MagLev bus home after this" Mercutio said. Broice and Gregard Ironforge sniggered next to him. Despite only reaching Harry's midsection, they still managed to look threatening. Harry knew from the stories Frank told that you don't want to mess with a Dwarf. They punched hunks of granite to warm up when exercising.

"Piss of Malfoy, I got better things to do then deal with your annoying voice" Harry growled, finishing off his lunch and standing up. Malfoy slapped a hand onto Harry's chest to stop him from leaving.

"You shouldn't try to sound too tough, Potter. I bet you couldn't even stand five minutes in a one on one fight with me" Malfoy sneered. Harry raised his eyebrow.

"Shove off Mercutio. I've got better things to do then listen to you brag" Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"I, Mercutio Draconicus Malfoy challenge you, Harry James Sirius Remus Potter to a Mage Battle" Malfoy said loudly, garnering the attention of most of the bottom floor of the hall. Harry clenched his teeth.

"You know what? Fine, you're on" He growled, grasping Malfoy's hand and summoning a little fire. Malfoy barely winced at the burn, and left soon after. Harry marched off to his suite to get ready for his next class. Frank stared longingly at his Wigsillian Steak before pushing it away and running after his friend.

"Dude, are you sure that was a good idea?" Frank asked, jogging to keep up with his fuming friend. Harry slowed down as he calmed down.

"Why wouldn't it be? It'd be good to put that snivelling with ferret in his place" Harry said.

"Dude, Malfoys are trained to be fighters from day one. He probably knows all kinds of Old Spells that could really do some damage. You have to let me teach you some Battle Magecraft." Frank said.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I have my Elemental powers, I can handle anything he sends at me" Harry said, feeling particularly stubborn. Frank grabbed Harry's shoulder and spun him around, pushing him against the wall.

"I am not letting you go up against a Malfoy, Mercutio or Draco, without some training. I don't care if I have to break every bone in your body to do it, I'm not letting a friend of mine get humiliated, do you understand?" snarled Frank. Harry nodded eyes wide in fear. He had heard about the famous quick temper of the Nefari, but had never seen it first-hand. It was like staring at an angry lion getting ready to pounce. Frank Lee visibly calmed down and let Harry go, glaring at a shocked looking female centaur that cantered away to her next class.

"Alright. Fine. When do we begin?" Harry asked, feeling a little humiliated that he was bested by the hybrid.

"The next match is in two weeks. We have until then. I suggest we get practising straight away"

The two weeks passed quickly, mostly consisting of Harry attending classes and his Battle Magecraft lessons with Frank. He learnt some basic Battle Elemental Spells, and was even taught how to fall properly by Frank, as well as some basic Martial Arts. Harry also got into the habit of taking morning runs around the lake before everyone else was up (well, all the humans and Nefari that is. A lot of the Magical Beings only slept for about four hours every night).

When the big night came, Harry was pacing in the suite, going over battle strategies, combinations and scenarios in his head. Ron, Frank, Susan and Heidi were watching all this amusedly.

"Harry, you gotta calm down. Getting this high strung is never good for a Mage Battle" Ron said, drinking a Cola absently. Mage Battles started at 8:00 o'clock, and it was 7:46.

"I know; it's just… it's my first Mage Battle, and I don't want to be made out to be a fool" Harry said, idly summoning a soda from the fridge. Frank smirked.

"You'll be fine. You just summoned a soda without realizing it. You are GOOD at Magecraft, just believe in yourself and you'll win this thing." Frank said. Harry sighed and sat down for a second, running his sweaty hands through his hair.

"You're right. I just need to relax. Chill out." Harry said. From the grounds, the sound of a bullhorn sounded. Harry gulped and sat up stiffly, feeling a cold wash of dread run down his spine.

"Come on hotshot, time to knock that spindly little git down a few pegs" Frank said, patting Harry on the back. He nodded and left the dorm, following the crowds toward the Battle Dome. There seemed to be a lot more people filling the Dome, and two banners were hung up on either side of the entrance. One had an anime-like image of Harry with his fists up, with flames dancing from them, and the other had another anime picture of Mercutio standing in front of a tidal wave. Harry smirked when he noticed that the banner of Mercutio had a Hitler Moustache drawn over it. Harry guessed correctly the Weasley Twins were to blame for that.

Inside, the interior was once again resized to fit the amount of students flooding into the Dome-like building. Up on the stage, Dumbledore, Flitwick and Whisperwind stood wearing their customary cloaks. As soon as everyone was inside, the lights dimmed.

"Welcome… to the fortnightly Mage Battle. Tonight, we have a few battles planned. The first, as advertised outside, thanks to Mr Jordan and Messrs Weasley and Weasley, is between Harry Potter and Mercutio Malfoy. Mr Malfoy and Mr Potter, please come up and accept your medallions." Dumbledore said. Malfoy and Harry walked up to the stage on opposite sides. Mercutio snatched the medallion from Flitwick, while Harry took his from Whisperwind.

"Assume your Forms" Dumbledore said. Harry slipped his on and concentrated. A massive plume for fire shot around him, startling the students in the crowd. When he re-emerged, Harry was wearing a white muscle shirt, tracksuit pants, boots and his arms were wrapped up in tendrils of flames. His hair was spiked and new muscles seemed to bulge from his arms. His medallion was stuck in his chest.

Mercutio seemed to do the opposite, and disappeared in a flurry of ice and snow. When he emerged, he was wearing a black cloak with ice resting on it. His head was covered by a frozen skull, and he was dressed in clothes that were covered in vein-like structures of ice. The medallion was hanging from a chain around his neck.

"The rules are simple. You will fight until one of your medallion's gems are dark," Dumbledore said, indicating the gems that had appeared in the gold medallions, "or until an opponent calls for a forfeit. Begin in 3, 2, 1… GO!"

Harry started off by surrounding his fists in fire, like in the picture, which drew out applause from the crowd. He shot some plumes of fire at Mercutio, who either dodged the flames or countered it with ice and water. Mercutio ran forward and swept his leg under Harry's, causing him to trip over. Quickly, Mercutio froze the ground underneath Harry. Harry had trouble getting up until he increased his body temperature and melted the ice around him. He jumped up and sent a wave of fire at Mercutio. Mercutio jumped up and seemed to rotate in mid-air before landing feet first on the ceiling.

Malfoy started forming ice shards and shooting them down at Harry in a style similar to a machine gun. Harry infused the muscles in his legs with magic and started dodging the icicles. However, he took a few hits and his gem went a few shades darker. Harry formed a spear out of fire and shot it towards Mercutio. As it travelled through the air, it fed on the oxygen in the room and grew larger, ploughing through Mercutio's hastily created shield. Mercutio's gems darkened significantly, and in a fit of rage, Mercutio seemed to switch from ice to earth, focusing on uprooting the ground underneath Harry in an attempt to knock him down. Harry had planned for this, and was dodging the rock spikes and shooting fire at Mercutio.

Harry decided to use one of the spells that Frank had taught him. So far, he had been using basic spells and fire manipulation.

"Ignis laoreet!" Harry shouted, throwing his arm out and firing several bursts of fire that grew in size, hitting the area around Mercutio, causing him to lose concentration on his spell and fall off the ceiling. Mercutio right himself and landed lightly on his feet, sweeping his arms out and sending a wave of icy wind at Harry. Harry countered with a wave of fire that collided with the ice wave, causing the two opposite elements to begin swirling around each other, forming a tornado.

A few shields flew up around the stage to protect the audience, who watched in fascination as ice crystals and bursts of fire struck the shields, lighting them up like fireworks. The Tornado grew in size, before Harry felt his magic depleting. With a surge of panic, Harry pushed his side of the tornado forward, in hopes of overwhelming Mercutio. This only succeeded in depleting his magical reserves, and dropping the spell. He gulped as the tornado turned into an icy death trap and slammed into him, sweeping Harry up and tossing him into the shields, which smashed into shards.

Several people caught him in Levitation spells, and Harry smiled in thanks as his costume faded away in a swirl of fire.

"Mercutio Malfoy Wins!" Dumbledore announced, and most of the Slytherin side of the Battle Dome exploded into applause, while Harry was let down and immediately pulled into a manly hug by Frank.

"You did excellently, Harry!" he said, grinning at him. Random people around him agreed with Frank, offering their praise at his performance, even while they paid their friends, evidently betting on him winning.

Frank led Harry out of the Battle Dome, followed closely by Ron, Susan and Heidi.

"Come on, drinks are on me at the Three Broomsticks!" Frank hooted, leading the way to Hogsmeade Village.

The next day found the three Gryffindor boys and two Hufflepuff girls sitting at the same table, though two of the boys were looking rather tired and ruffled.

"Why did you have to drink that LavaScotch?" asked Susan, taking a sip of her juice, "You know how Alcohol makes you feel the next day"

"I never had it before, and that guy was offering to buy it for me…" Frank said, his face pressed firmly against the cool table, as if hoping the cold wood will soothe his headache.

"Well, I'm heading down to the Battle Dome after breakfast, McGonagall wants me to meet the rest of the team today and get some practise in" Harry said, shovelling fried eggs into his mouth.

"Oh yeah, I heard Cane gloating about how he got four new members, he told me about you, Ariawynn and Colin, but refused to tell me who the fourth was" Ron said, looking puzzled. Harry shrugged, trying not to laugh at his friend's confusion. After eating, he said bye to his friends and trekked down to the Battle Dome. He noticed the banners were still up, but Mercutio's now had the addition of a top hat, bushy eyebrows and pair of breasts drawn over it.

Inside, Cane, Ariawynn, Colin, Ginny, Fred, George and two other girls were sitting waiting for him. The stage still showed signs of last night's battle, mostly the burn marks and still frozen patches of ice lying around.

"Harry! Right on time! You four know each other, but let me introduce you to everyone else. The twins are Fred and George Weasley, our Technomancers and the inventors of several dangerous gadgets. The dark beauty is Angelina Johnson, and she is a qualified Battle Mage. Be careful of her Judgement spell, she invented it herself. And finally, we have the lovely Alicia Spinnet, our Sorceress. And now you have me, the Captain and your Illusionist, Sydney Cane. Any questions?" said Cane.

There were no questions. The team of nine got to work discussing tactics and combinations for the off chance that they will be in a two on two battles. Cane also took the time to explain the rules of League Battles, which was different from Mage Battle.

"There are several subtle differences between League Battles and Mage Battles. The main one is that in League Battles, our costumes DON'T stop us from being hurt like in Mage Battles. The second is that we are allowed one familiar to help us in battle, and we can carry potions on us, whether for defensive, offensive or supportive.

"Now, the main four types of League Battle is 1x1, 2x2, 3x3 or Team Battle. As you can suspect, 1x1 is one on one, 2x2 is two on two and so on. The Team Battle is where the whole team fights against the entire opposing team. This is why it is important that we can synchronise attacks and help each other when in need."

Cane went on to explaining different techniques he came up with that incorporated each team member's abilities. By the time they were finished discussing these techniques it was 4:00 in the afternoon. As Harry walked out into the bright afternoon sun, he could hear Sydney tell Fred and George: "I have a good feeling about this year; we're going to win the cup this year!"

Perhaps it was because he was so busy, what with classes and League Battle Training three days a week, but Harry was shocked to find he was at Hogwarts for 2 months. The castle was fast becoming Harry's favourite place, with its talking portraits, moving stairs and wide variety of people. Harry was learning more and more interesting spells and types of magic now he'd gotten the basics down. Maths was a pain, but Harry could always switch over to Battle Magecraft and catch up over the summer.

On Halloween morning, Harry awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs. He walked out to find Ron in the small kitchenette cooking at the small stove.

"Dude, you can cook?" Harry asked blearily, still wearing his pyjama pants and t-shirt. He sat down on the couch and promptly flopped over, getting comfortable enough to fall asleep again.

"Yeah, Mum taught all of us when she found out the new Dormitories for all the houses were getting their own kitchens. She thought it would be good for us to learn how to cook in case we ever get wives" Ron said, walking out into the living room and putting Harry's plate on the coffee table. Ron walked over to the door to his and Frank's room and shouted, "DUDE! Get out here and eat your food or I'll dye you pink again"

"Again?" Harry asked, grabbing a piece of bacon and eating it slowly, looking a little like a cow with a clump of grass. Ron sat down and started shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth.

"Uh huh. I threatened him once, and he didn't think I'd do it" Ron explained. Frank walked in, dressed in a stained t-shirt and boxers. He sat down and pulled his food toward him, eating quietly. He kept shooting bitter looks towards Ron. "What?"

"You could have just charmed my hair pink. I'm still getting the pink out of my tail" Frank muttered. Ron just smirked.

"We have no classes today. Are you going to the Feast later?" asked Ron.

"Nah, I'll probably just wander around for a bit" Harry said, shrugging. Frank shot a look at Ron, though this one was full of concern rather than anger.

"You alright dude?" asked Ron. Harry looked over at him and smiled sadly.

"Yeah, just a… a bad day… I'll be fine you guys, you go enjoy the feast. I'll… I'll be fine…" Harry replied, going back to his breakfast. Ron and Frank looked at each other, but shrugged and decided that Harry was fine.

Frank, Ron, Susan and Heidi went to the Halloween Feast together, Frank finally getting along with Heidi, though occasionally shooting the odd barb at her. They found a seat at the 1st floor of the magnificent hall, their plates lit up by the chandelier hanging down between the horse-shoe frames that made up the upper floors. Frank and Ron were discussing Harry with Susan and Heidi, and expressed their worry about their friend. Everyone knew that Halloween was a bad time of the year. While it celebrated the fall of the Wizarding Terrorist, Voldemort, it also marked the time of when many families fell. Harry's mother was one of the victims of Voldemort during his reign of terror.

When the festivities started, however, all thoughts of Harry fled the minds of Frank, Susan and Ron. Heidi, however, shook her head at them and left to go find Harry. Nobody deserved to be alone on a day like this. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the multiple floating pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Frank was just helping himself to a baked potato when professor Quirrel came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. Dumbledore stood up.

"All Fourth Year Battle Magecraft students and above follow me to the dungeons, we're going to need all the manpower we can get if we are going to subdue a troll. Sprout, see if you can block off the Troll from entering the rest of the castle. Minerva, take Quirinius to the Hospital Wing. Prefects, take the third years and below to their dormitories and reinforce the doors" Dumbledore said, standing up. Frank and Ron looked at each other, wide eyed. Susan then gave a small shriek.

"Where's Heidi?!" she yelled.

* * * Meanwhile * * *

Harry was wandering the fourth floor corridor, idly making colour changing bubbles as he walked. He was thinking about his mother. He was only one when she was killed, and it was a week before Voldemort went on to kill two year old Neville Longbottom and his parents. He could still remember, if he thought hard enough, a flash of light and a scream.

He remembered radiant red hair, emerald green eyes and a face like porcelain. She was beautiful. But Voldemort killed her. But why? Maybe his Dad had stopped one of Voldemort's fear rallies and the terrorist wanted revenge? Was it his dad's fault his mother died? Maybe…

"Harry!" said a voice. Harry turned and saw Heidi rushing up to meet him. Harry frowned.

"Heidi? Why aren't you at the feast?"

"I came to talk. I know about your family, and nobody should be alone on a day like this." Heidi said. Harry smiled softly.

"Thanks Heidi" he said, beginning to walk, this time with Heidi in step. They walked in silence, just enjoying each other's company.

"What were you thinking when I came here?" asked Heidi suddenly. Harry blinked and looked in her direction oddly.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking away.

"You looked really… pensive when I came up here. Like you were brooding or something" she said, shrugging. Harry sighed a little.

"It's nothing, I'm just thinking too much" he said. Heidi nodded a little, accepting this answer. He was obviously keeping something from her, but she was not one to push. As they walked, they saw a shadow flash by, heading towards the downstairs staircase.

"Did you see that?" asked Harry, nodding at where the shadow went. Heidi nodded, looking puzzled, but told Harry it was probably just a Shadow Elf or a Shadowmancer zipping about.

They continued walking in silence, and only stopped when Harry sniffed the air.

"Ugh! Can you smell that?" asked Heidi, covering her nose. There was a thud as they turned around to see a wall of greyish flesh blocking their way.

* * * MEANWHILE! AGAIN! * * *

Back in the hall, 21 year old Percy Weasley was in his element.

"Follow me! Stick together! Best to get back to the common room before something bad happ… where did Ron and that Frank boy go?" he asked, looking around when he noticed the subtle lack of red hair and blonde cat ears.

Frank, Susan and Ron were running towards where Frank's scrying spell said Harry and Heidi were. As they got closer, they could hear banging and could smell burning flesh.

"Harry's busy" Ron quipped, turning a corner, but his smile vanished when he saw their opponent. The troll was a large wall of grey flesh. It had two heads, four muscular arms and elephant feet, and wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. It carried a large stone axe and a club in its upper arms, and one head was actually arguing with the other head.

"ME WANNA SMASH SMASH!"

"NO! ME WANNA SLASH SLASH!"

"SMASH SMASH!"

"SLASH SLASH!"

As it argued with itself, it was simultaneously attacking Harry and Heidi. The two mages dodged the swings of the weapons and shot a flurry of spells at it, the only spells working being Harry's fire spells. The three friends immediately dropped into a battle ready position. Frank flicked out his claws, and Susan got a blasting spell primed in her hand. Susan lobbed the blasting charm at the troll, and it screamed when a bit of its shoulder exploded. It turned around to face its new foes, and was slammed in one of its faces with a knockback hex, shot from Ron.

"Harry! Heidi! Get over here!" Frank yelled, before running up to the Troll and jumping onto it, digging his claws into its stomach. The troll roared, grabbed Frank and tossed him against the stone wall. Susan screamed in shock and ran over to assist him, while Ron sent a Messenger Spell to Dumbledore telling them where the troll was. Harry started throwing more fireballs at the troll, distracting it from Frank and drawing it towards him. The Troll roared and started charging at Harry. Harry gasped and looked around, looking for a way out.

Time seemed to slow down as everything turned black and white. Harry saw a black and white version of himself run forward and slide beneath the legs of the Troll, creating a fiery blade and slicing the troll between the legs. The Shadow Harry then stood up fluidly and stabbed the troll in the back with the fire blade.

Time sped back up, and Harry was back in the present. On impulse, Harry rushed forward, gathering fiery magic into his hand and shaping it into a blade. He fell to his knees and slid across the marble floors, going right between the Trolls legs. Harry grimaced as he sliced upwards with the blade, severing the trolls… privates… and standing up fluidly, spinning and shoving the blade into the back of the troll, hitting its spine.

The Troll screamed out and fell to the ground, twitching slightly, multiple burn marks covering its body. Harry staggered as a wave of exhaustion washed over him, causing his sword to vanish and for him to fall to his knees.

"HA—Y!" someone called out, panicked. The last thing harry saw and heard were running footsteps and a concerned Heidi.

While Harry was unconscious, Heidi, Frank, Susan and Ron were faced to deal with a very angry Professor McGonagall. Frank and Ron had seen this look before, her lips were white and her eyes narrowed.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Ron looked at Heidi while Susan fretted over the bruises on Frank's back. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"Harry wouldn't come to the feast because today is the anniversary of his mum's death, Heidi had gone to look for him before the troll was found by Professor Quirrel and Frank, Susan and I went to look for them since they didn't know about the troll. We didn't think the troll would be up on the fourth floor already!" Ron blurted.

Tyrande Whisperwind, the head of the Illusion Department, glanced at the troll and gasped at the burns and severed… privates…

"What on Earth and all other Realms happened to that Troll?" she asked oak brown eyes wide.

"Well, when we got here, Harry and Heidi were fighting it, but only Harry's fire spells were working. Frank tried to distract it by jumping on it, but he was thrown off. Then, Harry started shooting fire at it again to distract it, and it charged toward Harry. Harry seemed to freeze up, and then he ran up to it, slid under it and conjured a blade of fire. He sliced the troll, the stabbed it in the back." Ron explained. Poppy Pomfrey, who had come along in case of injury, sent a diagnostic spell at Frank, and after verifying he only had a small amount of internal bruising, he'd be fine. She then checked the troll and found that it had been completely paralysed.

"Ulfadeeroaborian, please take Mr. Neh'Gara'teth-Lee and Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing, Miss Bones, Miss Bones and Mr. Weasley, please return to your common rooms." Dumbledore said, his eyes dimly twinkling, he looked over the troll and sighed.

"But…"

"No buts, Mr. Weasley. Return to your Dormitory" Dumbledore said his voice a little firmer. Ron nodded and walked toward the Gryffindor Dorms, watching as Professor Bronzeheart, Frank and Harry vanished in rings of brown energy.

When Harry woke up, he was blinded from the pure white walls of the Hospital wing. Harry groaned, his mouth really try. Harry sat up and found a glass of water on his bedside table. He picked it up and gulped it down in one gulp.

"Nice to see you back in the land of the living, Mr. Potter" said a voice. Harry turned and found Professor Dumbledore smiling at him.

"Thanks… what happened?" Harry asked, not really knowing why he was in the Hospital wing. He felt fine.

"You did what not many fifteen year olds can do, Mr. Potter. You managed to paralyse a mountain troll." Dumbledore said, looking at Harry closely. Harry looked down as memories of the fight flashed back. He winced when he saw himself stabbing the troll into the back with the fire blade. Dumbledore spotted this wince and nodded in approval, his worries of a budding Dark Mage leaving his mind.

"That was an impressive thing you did. Not only did you save your friends, but you may have helped protect the school. That in mind, I believe thirty points to Gryffindor for your act of bravery. Messrs Neh'Gara'teth-Lee and Weasley have also been rewarded points."

"Thank you, sir" Harry said.

"I'll let you grab some rest. You exhausted your magical reserves in that fight" Dumbledore said, and took his leave.

_A/N: And Chapter Four is done. I hope you liked the confrontation of the Troll. In this chapter, I let some information slip in. Things such as the rules of League Battles, and the role of Harry's father, James Potter._

_Not much to add, except I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a hell of a time writing it._


	5. Magic Mirrors, Cerberus and Roomates!

**Name****: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating****: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre****: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings****: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville, Futuristic 90s.

**Pairings****: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognize. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Around the school, the Nefari wrapped themselves tightly in woolen scarves and jumpers, due to the fact that Nefari Kita was a tropical planet.

The League Battle season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be battling in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.

Hardly anybody (outside of Gryffindor, thanks to Cane's boasting) knew Harry was on the team, and was considered the teams Secret Weapon, thanks to his great control over fire. Harry was lucky to have Heidi as a friend. He had no idea how he'd get through Technomancy without her. Heidi could handle an Ion Phase engine like nobody could. Harry wasn't sure he was nervous or happy about this fact.

Frank lent Harry _League Battling for Beginners, by Lily Potter, _which was a great read. Harry got a little emotional when he saw the book written by his mother, but passed it off as dust in his eye when his friends questioned him. He was sure they understood.

Heidi and Frank were being much more civil around each other, even cracking the odd joke now and then. Harry guessed that surviving a Troll Attack tended to get people closer together. The Day before Harry's first match, the five of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and Harry had created a floating ball of fire. They were sitting with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Obviously, Snape was looking for a reason to get them in trouble, and noticed Harry's book.

"What have you got there, Potter?"

It was _League Battling for Beginners_. Harry showed him.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me"

Harry glared at Snape and banished the book to his room at the suite. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Fifty points for disobeying a teacher, Potter" Snape said silkily, before limping off.

"He just made that rule up" Frank growled, glaring at the greasy git. "I wonder what's wrong with his leg."

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.

The Gryffindor lobby was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron and Frank sat together near the fireplace. Frank and Ron were playing a card game that included holographic monsters. Harry was reading his book again, but for some reason, he couldn't help but think about that Shadow he saw before the troll attacked Heidi and himself. He mentioned it to his roommates, and they looked each other suspiciously.

"What?" asked Harry?

"Well, Snape had a limp and you saw a shadow go towards the third floor, maybe he tried to check out what's in the third floor corridor, and maybe steal it" Ron said, looking around nervously. Harry laughed a little.

"Dude, Snape's an Alchemist, not a Shadowmancer. Only Shadowmancers can move around like that" Harry said. Ron frowned.

"Then who was sneaking around on Halloween?" asked Frank.

"I dunno, but we probably shouldn't worry about it." Harry said, going back to his book. Frank and Ron looked at each other and shrugged.

The next morning dawned bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good League Battle.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Heidi. Ever since Harry collapsed after fighting the troll, Heidi has been a little… protective.

"I'm not hungry."

Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time, he'd be walking into the arena.

"Harry. You need your strength," Ginny said from her place next to Ron. "Fire Elementals are always the first to tire; you literally burn a lot of energy making fire"

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said, watching Ginny pile ketchup on her sausages.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands of the League Arena. The Arena was a bowl shaped room in the underbelly of the school, the place where Mage Battle was founded by Harry's Mother and Father, as well as a few other people. The room was originally quite small, but was resized magically to the size of two football fields.

At either end of the Arena were Prep Rooms, it was inside one of these rooms that the Gryffindor team were getting ready. Inside, Harry and the rest of the team were standing in their red jackets, each with their last names on the back.

"Alright team, this is it." Cane said, only to be interrupted by the Twins.

"The big one,"

"The one we've all been waiting for"

"We know Sydney's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."

"Shut up, you two," said Cane. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."

He glared at them all as if to say, 'Or Else'.

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you"

Harry followed Ariawynn and Sydney out of the locker room, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walking into the arena to loud cheers.

Vera Beja'Toogra'teth was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, a chest in her hands. For the first battle of the year, it was customary for six of the nine team members to battle, with tag in's allowed. For the first battle, Fred and George, Sydney, Ariawynn, Ginny and Harry would be battling Richard Penfold, Nigel Marven, Michael Johnson, Astoria Greengrass, Guy Gibson and William Gates.

"Welcome ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between, to the first League Battle of the year! Allow me to introduce the combatants from Gryffindor. Hailing from the Misty Moors of Godric's Hollow, halfway here at all times… Sydney Cane!" Jordon Lee yelled. The Gryffindors gave a cheer as Sydney created an illusion of a Lion running through the air.

"The Troublesome Twins of Technology, our Masters in Pranking… Gred and Forge Weasley!" More cheering as the popular gingers stepped forward and waved at the crowd, grinning cheekily.

"The Mistress of Shadow, the Elf from the Outer Realm, give it up for… Ariawynn Shadowmoon!" The Gryffindors cheered as Ariawynn stepped back shyly, hiding her face, though she had a grin.

"She's fiery, she's daring, and she can kill me if I make a princess joke, give a round of applause for…. Ginny Weasley!" The Gryffindors cheered and Harry could make out Ron's shocked "WHAT!?" through the cheers. Ginny threw up a cloud of green dust that exploded outward, sending a feeling of hope through the team members of Gryffindor.

"And finally… the Master of Fire and all that encompasses it, you saw him at the fortnightly Mage Battles… give it up for Harry Potter!" Cheering exploded from the crowd, and Harry could hear booing mixed in from Slytherin. Harry grinned as he felt his spirits bolster.

"And now the Slytherin Team! Coming all the way from London, and a 5th year to boot, give it up for the Sorcerer Richard Penfold!" Slytherin applauded for their house captain.

"The Illusionist and Trickster: Guy Gibson!"

"The Changeling from Dublin, nicknamed the Life Giver: Michael and/or Michelle Johnson!"

"The Earthshaker and Mover of Mountains: Nigel Marven!"

"The Sorceress, dubbed the Ice Princess of Slytherin: Astoria Greengrass!"

"And Finally, the Atom Splitter, and aspiring Terran Republic Mechanic: William Gates!"

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," Vera said, once they were all gathered around her. Harry noticed she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Penfold. He looked like he had a bit of Troll Blood, and what with today's views on Interspecies Relationships, it's possible. "Now, collect your Medallions and take your forms"

In turn, everyone took their forms. Harry gained his usual undershirt, tracksuit pants and bandages wrapped around his arms, while Ariawynn gained traditional elven battle garb, Ginny gained a pure white robe with green floral designs across it, Fred and George seemed to gain Iron Man like armour and Sydney turned into a humanoid shirtless lion.

Richard Penfold gained an archaic pair of robes, Guy Gibson seemed to take on the form of a scaled humanoid with a snake heard, Nigel Marven gained green oriental clothes and stood on a floating boulder, Michael Johnson looked like a very androgynous man in a tweed suit, Astoria Greengrass gained regal robes and William Gates looked like a mad scientist crossed with a grease monkey

The fight was on.

(Since I already wrote this scene, and I lost it, I'm just going to say F %# it and give a rundown of it)

During the fight, Sydney created illusionary copies of himself and spread them out into the field, Fred and George took the front line and protected Harry and Ginny from any major harm with their Defense UFO's, Harry sent bursts of fire and other attacks into the fray of Slytherin's every now and then while Ginny sat back and healed her teammates whenever they looked to be injured or tiring. The fight went on for nearly twenty minutes before something happened. Harry's attacks were continuously interrupted when his Medallion would jerk around and make his outfit vanish. While he tried to fix it, he had one of the Twins guards him, and Ariawynn Shadow Travelled behind the Slytherin's and set Runic Traps.

In the stands, Frank identified a Spell Strand leading from Harry's Medallion to the Teacher's stands. He went over to investigate, and found that the Strand branched off between Snape and Quirrel. Without any way of telling who was doing what, he stunned the both of them, breaking the strand. With his Medallion working correctly, Harry and his team worked in harmony to defeat the Slytherin's, with only Ariawynn being disqualified when she stepped on one of her own traps and lost all the light in her gem.

(If you don't like how I did this, tough luck. The later chapters will have more detailed fights, and I'm only not doing this one because I lost 4000 words of work when my computer shut down randomly.)

After the Battle, Gryffindor threw a massive party. Gryffindor Parties have always been famous, and Harry soon found out why.

Apparently, after every Battle Win, a special room under Gryffindor Dorms is unlocked, and a new button appears in the Elevators. Press it, and you are taken down into a large room lined with tables. The House Elves know when to stock the room with food and drink, and the Twins are always good for buying alcohol.

Harry first saw that room that night, and what was awesome was that Harry was one of the Guests of Honour!

The room was bright and several lights were shining colored light around, as music blasted from speakers. Lining the room were chairs, couches and whatnot, and many people were already dancing in the middle. It wasn't just Gryffindor's too. Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and even some decent Slytherin's were in attendance. Harry spotted Frank and Susan dancing together, and Fred and George Weasley guarding the kegs and demanding a show of ID. They didn't believe in giving under 17 alcohol. They let Harry have one, though, since he helped win the Battle.

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and most of the Nefari in the school went on vacation to warmer places, or even to Nefari Kita. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly again. Even Hedwig the MechOwl had to be thawed out near the fire before her cogs and joins could move again.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor Dorms, rooms and Suites were heated, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Elementalism was spent during the weeks before Christmas learning how to move snow without touching it. Harry didn't very much enjoy this class.

Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.

"I do feel so sorry," said Mercutio Malfoy, one Alchemy class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Broice and Gregard chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfette had been even more unpleasant than usual since the League Battle. Disgusted that the Slytherin's had lost, he had tried to get everyone to believe Harry had cursed the Slytherin's Medallions to go dark quicker than the Gryffindor's. Nobody believed him, since Professor Beja'Toogra'teth pointed out that all the Medallions were in a single chest that was kept locked in her office at all times when not being used.

Then he'd realized that nobody believed him, because they were impressed that Harry had managed to keep fighting despite the malfunctions in the Medallion. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having a broken family.

It was true that Harry wasn't going home for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had no choice but to sign in. James Potter, Harry's dad, was offworld during Christmas, and he didn't fancy staying with his Uncle in his bachelor pad. His other uncle, Remus, was in Portiac'Durma, helping research Lycanthropy.

Luckily, Frank, Susan, Heidi, Ron and the other Weasley's would be staying as well.

Frank's parents were apart of very successful businesses and would be busy during Christmas, while Susan and Heidi wanted to stay at Hogwarts with their friends. Ron and his brothers and sister were staying because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit their eldest son Charlie.

When Harry and Tianna Longbottom'teth, the adopted Nefarian sister of Neville Longbottom, left the dungeons at the end of Alchemy, they met up with Frank as Tianna was just telling him a funny story about her brother, a Devils Snare and ice cream. Tianna broke off from the group and waved goodbye as she walked off, her twin tails swishing happily.

Harry, Frank, Ron, Susan and Heidi found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoys cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose – that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron growled and sent a burst of lightning toward Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!"

Malfette created a shield lazily.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, attacking younger students is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Mercutio, Broice and Gregard pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"One day…" said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "One day; they'll find him full of enough electricity to power Vancouver."

"I hate them both," said Heidi, scowling at the back of Snape, "Malfette and Snape."

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So the six of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree – put it in the far corner, would you?"

The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. Then there were the upper floors of the hall, where the wooden platforms looked like they were frozen with pointed icicles hanging off the side, and the chandelier wrapped in non-flammable tinsel.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Just one," said Susan. "And that reminds me; Hermione needed my help with some Rune essay. I'll see you guys soon."

Susan left and the remaining four were left to wander the halls of Hogwarts. They ended up back in Harry, Ron and Frank's suite. They made a bee-line for the couch, and Frank paused when he passed Harry's door.

"Uh… Harry? You don't happen to have a pet, do you?" asked Frank, staring wide-eyed into Harry's room.

"Only Hedwig, and you've seen her. Why do you…" Harry trailed off as he walked over to investigate.

Lying on the second bed, recently left unoccupied since Harry's roommate never turned up, was a living wolf Furry. He was a he, determined by his clothes and spiked hair, with grey fur, blue eyes and dyed blonde hair on his head. He was playing a guitar, but Harry couldn't hear what he was playing because the wolf had a headset connected to his guitar. The wolf seemed to notice Frank and Harry at the door.

"Oh, g'day. You must be my roomies" the furry said in an Australian accent.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Harry, this is Frank and the ones in the living room are Heidi Bones and Ron Weasley" Harry said, marveling at the fact that he was slowly getting used to the unexpected.

"Name's Eric. Eric Williams." Eric said, holding out a hand. Harry noticed that while he had human like hands, they had pads on the fingertips and palms. Harry and Frank shook hands with him. "You curious about the fur?" Eric asked, grinning toothily.

"A little" Frank shrugged.

"I tried to do Astral Projection and my body got stuck in the pet corgi. Mum used transmutation to make me bigger and more humanoid, as well as making me less… adorable" Eric said, grinning. "She's got my old body on ice until she can find a way to get me back to normal, though I'm considering staying like this."

"But don't you want to have kids?" asked Heidi, who had walked up behind the boys and been listening quietly. Her sudden appearance made Harry and Frank jump a little. Eric smiled.

"Thought of that. I figured I could extract the necessary 'ingredients' from my old body and use that to have a test-tube baby… that, or maybe just try Cross-Species Genetic Manipulation. I'm guessing your folks did that, Frank?" asked Eric, smiling wolfishly. Frank nodded, and glanced into the living room where Ron was taking up the couch and drinking a Coke.

"Wanna join us for a game of cards? We got the rest of the day off… Why are you so late in getting to Hogwarts?" asked Frank, frowning. Eric shrugged.

"Animal body modification on this level is difficult. It took several months just to get to this stage. I was hoping for less of a muzzle, but oh well…" Eric said, shrugging. "And yeah, I wouldn't mind playing cards"

"What classes are you taking, Eric?" asked Ron, looking over his cards.

"English, Math's and Science for the Required first year classes in room 22, room 54 and room 296 respectively, and for my Magecraft classes I have Elementalism 1 with Sprout, Battle Magecraft 1 with Quirrel, Sorcery 1 with Flitwick, Travel Magic with Bronzeheart and Summoning with Beja'Toogra'teth. Am I in any of your classes?" Eric asked Harry and Heidi.

"You're in our Elementalism class, and you're in my Sorcery Class, as well as Summoning" Heidi said, speaking for Harry since he was eating a sandwich he'd made before the game started. The boy nodded over his cards, chewing his ham and cheese sandwich. After Frank won the game once again, Ron took Harry aside and started to teach him Classic Chess. Before the Reveal, Wizards Chess was quite the rage among young people, and Ron still liked to play it.

Wizard Chess was a lot like Holo-Chess, but it was solid and the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like most things he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family – in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

Seamus Finnegan, a second year from two doors down, leant Harry his vintage chessmen, being another Wizard Chess enthusiast, and they didn't trust Harry at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him; we can afford to lose him."

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and fun, but had a heavy heart knowing that it was going to be another Christmas spent without his dad.

_It was December 25th 1990 and Harry was ten years old. He was sitting in the large living room of Potter Manor with his Dad, his Dad's friend Natalie, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Petunia Evans and Cousin Dudley Evans. After Dudley's dad had attacked a few elven Charity Collectors, Vernon Dursley had been sent to Stonewall Minimum Security Prison and Petunia had filed for a divorce, getting her maiden name back and changing Dudley's last name to Evans. _

_Since this happened back when Dudley was four, he didn't really have much influence from his father, and was quite accepting of Magicals and Offworlders. Harry and Dudley sat together, both Ten, excitedly waiting for the opening of presents. James Potter was sitting rather closely to Natalie and was making several colourful orbs float from his fingertips, entertaining the guests when they would either explode, change shape and make silly noises._

"_Alright, who's ready for presents?" asked James, grinning widely. James had aged well since his school years, with only a few grey hairs peppering his messy black birds nest, and a few wrinkles on his forehead. Dudley and Harry raised their hands yelling "ME, ME, ME!"_

"_Okay, let's get the guests out of the way first. Petunia, this one is from Natalie and myself" James said, handing a large box over to Petunia._

"_Oh, you didn't have to" she said, but accepted the present anyway. Harry and Dudley rolled their eyes at each other. Petunia unwrapped the present and found a little circular disc inside. She lifted it up and looked at James with a raised eyebrow._

"_Say activate" James said. Petunia blinked, but did so anyway. _

_Instantly, the disk clicked and opened up, revealing several spindly arms with brushes, mobs, sprayers and what looked like a vacuum nozzle. A red eye-like protrusion rose from the top._

"I AM VACU-TRON 9800. I AM AN AUTOMATIC CLEANING BOT DESIGNED TO SCAN FOR DIRT AND GRIME IN THE HOUSEHOLD_!" The Vacu-Tron said in a robotic voice. It seemed to cast a beam across the floor and focused on an old coffee stain. It flew over to it, poured foam onto it, and then started scrubbing like mad, before sucking the foam up, drying it and brushing the carpet with a clean scrubber._ "ALL DIRT AND GRIME ERADICATED!"

"_Wow!" said Petunia, staring wide-eyed as the Vacu-Tron folded back into the disc mode. _

"_It comes with a Sun Crystal, just leave the crystal outside in the sun for an hour then plug it into the Vacu-Tron. There's a manual in the box" James explained. _

_It went like this with Dudley getting a football from Sirius, a new pair of shoes from his mum, a new bike from Remus, a box of candy from Harry and a leather jacket two sizes too big from James. _

_Harry got a pair of fireproof gloves (James decided it would be best to give him these after his last bout of Accidental Magic, that being setting the kitchen table ablaze with his fingers), a pair of goggles from his uncle Sirius, a Jet-Bike simulator from his uncle Remus, a copy of the popular MMORPG Ancient Worlds (A medieval version of Earth and Nefari Kita where they had always known about each other. In the game you can make a character from a number of races in two factions, the Terran Alliance and the Rebellion. Dudley played the game as well, and had a level 20 Shadow Elf Mage. Harry planned on making a Nefarian Spiritual Master) from Dudley and Petunia, and from Natalie, he was given a rectangular box._

"_What is it?" he asked Natalie._

"_Open it" she said mysteriously. Harry opened it and found a computer board inside. He looked at it questioningly. "It's an Artificial Intelligence Module. Call Hedwig and I'll install it" Natalie said, smiling. Harry pressed a button on his watch and the robotic owl flapped in, leaving a trail of steam behind her. She landed in front of Harry and hooted metallically. Natalie came over and pressed two buttons on the back of Hedwig's neck, causing the owl's breastplate to open up, revealing wiring and a Power Stone smack-dab in the middle like a heart. Natalie fiddled around for a minute, before she installed the board into Hedwig and closed it. _

_Hedwig hooted before shutting down and starting up again, a new glow to her eyes. _

"_Hello Harry. How nice to finally speak to you" Hedwig said, in a young woman's voice. Harry gasped as he heard it, as he'd heard it so many times growing up._

"_Mum?" Harry whispered. Hedwig shook her head._

"_No, dear, I'm just installed with your mother's personality." Hedwig said, stretching her shiny wings. Harry felt himself tear up and hugged Natalie and his father. Hedwig watched as Remus, Sirius, Petunia and Dudley went to the three and joined them in a group hug. _

"Oi, Harry, wake up. It's Christmas" Harry heard his new roommate say. Harry opened his eyes and looked over at the other side of his room. Between the time Eric had gotten to Hogwarts and Christmas Day, Eric had decorated his side of the room. Eric's wall was decorated with numerous band posters, and he had a DVD rack full of old and new horror movies. He had two guitar stands set up, one with a black electric guitar and another with a mahogany acoustic guitar. He had two amps, one large and one small, and his desk was taken mostly by a massive sound system. He also had somehow managed to squeeze a keyboard into his side of the room, and had offered to teach Harry how to play if he wanted.

Currently, Eric was looking through his drawers for a shirt.

"Ugh… do I have to?" Harry grumbled, wishing to go back to sleep.

"Nah man, we've got presents to unwrap" Eric said, grinning wolfishly as he pulled a Ramms+ein shirt on. Harry raised an eyebrow at the shirt. "What? Too Christmassy?"

Harry laughed and got up, throwing an undershirt and a pair of tracksuit pants on. He followed Eric into the living room where Frank and Ron were sitting. Ron was wearing shorts and an old basketball jersey, and Frank was wearing shorts and an undershirt, while nursing a coffee.

"Merry Christmas roomies" Eric said, sitting down on the new armchair that the Hogwarts House Elves had added.

"Merry Christmas" everyone intoned as they sat down. The coffee table was groaning under the weight of the four mounds of presents. They got to work unwrapping the presents.

Harry received a new phone from his Uncle Sirius, the latest expansion for Ancient Worlds (Cataclysm, where you can play as a new race for each faction HobGoblins for the Rebellion and Werewolves for the Terran Alliance) from Dudley, a set of clothes from Petunia, a picture of a new Jet-Bike and a pair of Keys attached from Remus, a book on Elemental Techniques from Heidi, a box of candies from Susan, a globe of Nefari Kita with real orbiting asteroids from Frank, a book titled "How to Charm Witches" from Ron and a book titled "How to Scam Redheads into buying Books that don't work" from Hermione. Harry had to stifle a laugh at the last one. Harry had only two presents left after these. Harry picked up a lumpy parsel, and lifted an eyebrow when Ron gave a horrified look.

"Oh no. My mum made you a Weasley Sweater" Ron moaned. Harry blinked and unwrapped it. The sweater inside was obviously hand knitted, and really well done too. It was orange with red flames and a golden H on the chest.

"Wow! It's so warm!" Harry gasped, feeling it. It was like there was a heater built into the wool.

"Yeah, mum always puts heating enchantments onto the sweaters. And she always gives me maroon!" Ron moaned, opening his own one. Harry grinned when he spotted the tin of homemade treacle tart.

"That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying to tart, which was very tasty. "How did your mum know I was a Pyromancer?"

"I told her in a letter" Ron said, opening a pack of Voice Changers. Harry grabbed the last package and smiled when he saw it was labelled _To Harry, from Dad and Natalie_. He unwrapped it and something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped.

"I've heard of those," he said in a high pitch voice, dropping the packet of Voice Changers he'd gotten from Susan. "If that's what I think it is - they're really rare, and really valuable."

"What is it?" asked Frank. Eric chose to watch the exchange quietly, chewing on some cereal he had gotten while everyone was unwrapping presents.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak. It's been in my family of generations. Dad must have passed it down to me" Harry said, smiling as he picked up the silvery cloth.

"I'd give anything for one of these" Ron said.

Before they could say or think anything else, the suite door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.

"The door was loc.." Frank started, but was cut off.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look - Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"

Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.

"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.

"You haven't got a letter on yours, Ron," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge."

"What's all this noise?"

Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.

"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."

"I - don't – want" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."

They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.

Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce - and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, and slight horror, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.

Harry, Frank and the Weasley's spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Even Susan, Heidi and Eric joined in. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak, and what to do with it.

Eric, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.

He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.

Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.

Harry crept out of the suite, down the elevator and snuck past Pavarti Patil, who was on Desk Duty, and opened the door to the Dorms.

"Who's there?" called out Pavarti. Harry didn't answer, and hoped that Pavarti would decide to leave the door unlocked for any couples deciding to stay out late. Once out in the dark corridor, Harry wondered where he should go.

'_The Third Floor corridor… what's the worst that could happen?'_Harry asked, feeling rather curious about why the corridor was off limits. He began to make his way there, keeping to the shadows despite being invisible, and walking softly to null his footsteps. He had to dodge a Shadow Elf couple making out (the only other Shadow Elves at Hogwarts, aside from Ariawynn) and Peeves who was bouncing up and down the fourth floor stairwell singing a silly limerick.

He eventually made it, and tried the door. It was locked. Harry looked back on the spells he knew (idly wishing he had a spell book he could whip out like the wizards of yore) and snapped his fingers, cringing as he did so, in remembrance. He placed his hand against the lock, and muttered, "Alohamora" smirking as the lock glowed softly before it unlocked.

Harry quietly opened the door and peeked in. It was dark, so Harry stepped in fully and cast a spell on his eyes to see in the dark. He gasped quietly when he saw what the room contained. Lying on the floor, taking up most of the corridor due to its massive size, was a three headed dog. A Cerberus, if Harry was not mistaken. Due to the lack of hellfire and undead appearance, Harry supposed it was a Roman Cerberus, and not one of the hellhounds that guarded the entrance to the old Wizarding City, dubbed by the Mundanes as the 'underworld'.

But Roman Cerberus' didn't get this big, unless they had some outside help. Perhaps a nutrient and a growing potion in its Doggy Chow. Harry was about to leave, when he noticed that its middle head was resting on a wooden but sturdy looking trapdoor. The trapdoor could have been there coincidentally, or it was guarding something.

Harry's curiosity was quenched, and he left the magical dog to its sleep. On the way back, though he got a little lost, and ducked into an old classroom to regain his bearings and try to remember the way back. Inside the classroom, obviously abandoned, he himself faced with a massive mirror standing against the wall, with its top nearly scraping the high ceiling. It stood on clawed legs and appeared to have decorative wings coming from its side, one angelic and another bat-like.

A top the fogged mirror were some etchings. Coming closer, Harry read them out.

"_Erised stra ehr ouyt ubec fru oyt onw ohsi…_ I show not your face but your heart's desire?_"_ Harry muttered, frowning. He looked into the mirror and nearly yelled. There, his reflection was, but he wasn't the only one in the mirror. In the mirror was his Dad, his Uncles, his Aunt, his cousin and his Mother, all standing together. As Harry stared in shock, new forms began to develop, until Frank Lee, Ron Weasley, Susan Bones and Heidi Bones. As he stared, again, a few more forms appeared, smaller. One was a boy that looked like a younger Harry but with red hair and green eyes, another was a girl seemingly younger then the boy with dark red hair and brown eyes, another was a girl obviously related to the boy and girl and very young with black hair and green eyes. Harry blinked when two kids appeared by Frank and Susan. One was a girl with pink hair, pink cat ears at the side of her head and one cat tail, while the other looked like a short green-haired Nefarian child with human ears, human eyes and three tails.

"What on Earth, Nefari Kita and everything between…" Harry muttered using a phrase he had heard Frank utter once while he was trying to understand the difference between Fire Magic and Plasma Magic.

"Is this what I desire? A complete family?" Harry pondered, frowning a bit. He noticed that while he was thinking about this, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the mirror. The three siblings in the mirror smiled and waved at Harry, mouthing something. Harry activated his Spell-Check and noticed a subtle compulsion charm on the mirror, forcing anyone to feel the need to stare needlessly into the mirror. Harry broke away from the compulsion, and frowned when the mirror image vanished.

Harry shook his head, and decided to leave. He'd keep the mirror secret. Best not to let anyone else get enthralled by it, if he had anything to do with it.

A few weeks after Christmas, and Harry had regaled the tail of his trip to see what was in the Third Floor Corridor to his friends. Frank and Ron were curious about what was under the trapdoor, while Susan was disapproving of his sneaking around at night. Heidi said she felt uneasy about the trapdoor, and warned Harry to try and not meddle. Harry lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Since when do I meddle?" he asked. Heidi shrugged, and simply sat there. They were sitting by the lake on a bench they had transmutated from a boulder. Susan was cuddled against Frank, while Ron was standing and skipping rocks across the lake. Heidi also at on the bench, next to Harry. Frank was sipping from a water bottle in his hand.

"Well, the fact that a Roman Cerberus is currently chilling in the castle is pretty damn cool" Frank said, grinning. The Nefari were known for taking on animals larger then themselves, hence the barn-yarding the fiercest predator on Nefari Kita and using them for Milk and Cheese.

"Frank, don't you dare. Madam Pomfrey doesn't need to regrow your claws" Susan said, slapping her boyfriend. Harry heard about the time Frank went for a trek in the Foreboding Forest in his first year and ended up wondering into an Acromantula Nest. Harry chuckled slightly.

"I wish you'd woken us up, Harry," Ron said, tossing his flat rock and flicking his wrist, causing it to spin quickly and spray water up as it skipped, "It would have been cool to see the Cerberus for ourselves."

"Dude, I was using my Invisibility Cloak, and three guys pressed together under it is not my idea of a fun night" Harry said dryly. Ron rolled his eyes.

"It's mine" Susan spoke up, grinning. Harry, Ron, Heidi and Frank groaned out loud, and Frank poured some water down Susan's back, the following shriek echoing across the water of the Lake.

_A/N: Dear God, this took ages to get out. _

_Hello dear Readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I enjoyed writing it. Basically, a bunch of stuff happened this chapter, including the first League Battle, Christmas, a new Roommate, Fluffy and the mirror of Erised._

_You'll notice that Harry is a bit more thoughtful in this story. In my universe, James, while a prankster, was also very serious about his studies, and pushed Harry growing up to read what he wants and to think things through before acting. This kind of upbringing, you'd expect him to go to Ravenclaw like in the original, but I wanted Harry to know Ron and Frank, since I planned since the beginning of the Rewrite to make Ron and Frank friends._

_Also, don't think that Harry is getting a little overpowered. He is just a normal wizard, with a basic knowledge of spells. In my Potterverse, stuff like the Patronus Charm isn't even the most advanced magic, but more Intermediate. The kind of magic he'll learn during the War will make Anime Battles seem tame. _

_Peace Out:_

_DimensionJumper _


	6. Flamel, Lions vs Badgers and Dragons

**Name****: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating****: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre****: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings****: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville, Futuristic 90s.

**Pairings****: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognize. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

The week after talking to his friends, Harry couldn't get the mystery of the Cerberus off his mind. Why was it there? What was it guarding? Was it dangerous? So many questions and so little time…

And that mirror. While the compulsion was broken, Harry couldn't stop thinking about the family he saw in the mirror. According to the cryptic message at the top of the mirror, the Mirror of Erised, as he was starting to call it, was supposed to show his deepest desire. Did he really desire kids? And who was the mother, all he saw was himself, Frank, Susan, Heidi and Ron, as well as his parents, uncles, aunt and cousin.

During a spot of tea with Hagrid the Gamekeeper, Harry accidentally let slip about the Cerberus, causing poor Hagrid to nearly drop his kettle.

"How do yeh know 'bout Fluffy?" asked Hagrid, staring at Harry wide-eyed.

"Late night wanderings, I'm guessing the dogs yours?" Harry asked, trying to ignore the fact that Hagrid had named a Cerberus Fluffy.

"Of course he's mine. I leant him to Dumbledore to guard the Stone" Hagrid said, not paying attention to what he was saying.

"What's so important about a stone?" asked Harry. Hagrid froze where he was mopping up some of the water he spilled.

"Nothin', nothin', you best be forgettin' I said that" Hagrid said. Harry tilted his head, now curious.

"No, come on. Tell me. You can trust me" Harry said, smiling at his friend.

"I can', it's strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel" Hagrid said, shaking his head. Harry sighed.

"Fine, I'll leave it. I best be going, thanks for the tea Hagrid" Harry said, before leaving quickly. Hagrid said goodbye as the door closed, feeling a little bemused. It wasn't until several minutes later did Hagrid realized what he'd said.

"Bollocks"

Harry was always an inquisitive soul, which is why when Hagrid let slip about a 'stone' and a guy called Nicholas Flamel, he had to find out what it was. It was only because his recklessness outweighed his curiosity that he made it into Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw.

He enlisted the help of Susan, Heidi and Frank. He asked Ron, but was turned down, and they didn't know Eric well enough to ask him for help. Whatever this 'stone' was, it was meant to be kept secret, as evidenced by the Cerberus.

They went through the Library of Hogwarts, knowing that anything magic related had more chance of being here. They could have done a search on the World Wide Web, but they would have had less chance of finding anything.

The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.

Susan took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Frank strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Battle Magecraft.

They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, and were starting to consider the internet by the time League Battle Practice had started up again. Cane was working the team harder than ever. Despite the endless rain that had replaced the snow wouldn't dampen Cane's spirits. He had the team on a strict training regime. Every morning, all members of the Gryffindor Team were required to do a mile a morning, and add another mile after a week of doing so, in order to increase their stamina.

Then, after a hearty breakfast, if they had no classes, they were to report to the school gym for cardio, weight training and sparring with each other. During the sparring, they often got an audience from other houses. At first, Cane was hesitant about letting in members of different houses in to view their training, but it wasn't until Gymmistress Greenwich reminded him, the gym was a public room in the castle, and it was open to anyone. If they wanted privacy to train, they could use the Arena or find someplace else. Cane reluctantly agreed after this, but warned any members of other houses that if they told their teams about their training, they'd sic the Weasley Twins on them.

Then, during a wet and rainy day, Cane gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept detonating their Multi-Detonation-Distraction-Monkeys.

"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George Weasley was so shocked, he made a monkey explode near some weights, sending them flying into a Dwarf who was lifting enough to pale a bodybuilder.

"Snape's refereeing?" he said, after copping an earful from an angry Dwarf. "When's he ever refereed a League Battle? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."

"The rest of the team started to complain, too.

"It's not my fault," said Cane. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."

Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was battling…

The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another after they hit the showers to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor Dorms, where he found Ron and Frank playing a game of 'Battle-Monsters-Superstar-Go!', a game from Japan that consisted of manly girls in skimpy outfits taking down massive monsters.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen.." He caught sight of Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

Harry told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a League Battle referee.

"Don't play," said Frank at once.

"Say you're ill," said Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg," Frank suggested.

"Really break your leg," said Ron.

"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't any reserve players. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all, and anyway, Madam Pomfrey can cure and heal me in a heartbeat."

At that moment, Tianna Longbottom'teth toppled into the common room. How she managed to stay upright was anyone's guess, because her tails had been stuck to her legs with what looked like a modified Leg-Locker Curse. She must have had to waddle all the way up to Gryffindor Dorms, since a Nefari needed their tails to stay balanced, what with Nefari Kita's lower than usual gravity.

Everyone fell over laughing except for Frank, who was about to get up, when the doors opened to the Gryffindor Dorm again, admitting the Boy-Who-Lived, Neville Longbottom.

"Enough!" he shouted, quieting the room. He went over to his adoptive sister and helped her up, performing the counter curse and leading her over to the only free seat, which was with Frank, Harry and Ron, coincidentally.

"What happened?" asked Neville, putting an arm around his sister.

"Malfoy Jnr," said Tianna shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Don't worry. I'll curse his bits off for you" Neville said reassuringly. Tianna smiled a little, but shook her head.

"I don't want more trouble," she mumbled. Neville sighed.

"You've got to learn to stand up for yourself, Tianna'seth" Neville said, hugging his sister close. "Malfoy's are used to getting their way. It's up to us Longbottom's to show them where they can stick their pureblood supremacy"

"I know… but I can't… I'm not good at Magecraft like you, and Mum, and Dad, and Grandma" Tianna said, getting a little choked up as she spoke. She nuzzled her face into her brothers chest and began crying, making everyone who had laughed feel guilty instantly. Harry got up and sat next to Neville and Tianna, pulling a Chocolate Frog from his pocket, the very last one from Susan. He gave it to Tianna, who took it with a sniff and smile.

"You're worth twelve of Malfette," Harry said, earning a giggle from Tianna with the use of the nickname for Mercutio. "The Quiz decided you were best for Gryffindor, right? And where's Malfoy? Down in the snakepit"

Neville shot Harry a grateful smile as Tianna unwrapped the frog.

"Thank you Harry… I think I'll go take a nap… Do you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"

As Tianna walked away, Neville seized Harry's hand and shook it.

"Thanks mate, it's good to see Tianna has such a good friend" he said, before walking away. As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.

"Dumbledore again," he said. "I got like four of him…"

He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Frank.

"I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the bus coming here - listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, his aid in finalizing the Earthern-Nefarian Alliance and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"

"I know him! He's a famous alchemist from France,

"Uh oh, he's going into Lecture mode" Ron said, pulling a face. Frank ignored him and continued,

"He was famous for creating the Philosopher's Stone, or as some people calls it these days, the Stone of Immortality. The stone is supposed to transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal, hence the name. The only stone currently in existence is supposed to be locked away. I was always under the impression that Nicholas Flamel died in 1418" Frank said.

"Well, he had the Philosopher's Stone, so he may have faked his death and went into hiding." Harry said. Frank nodded.

"That's possible. The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's… six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

The next morning during their Free Period, Harry and Ron were discussing what they'd do with a Philosopher's Stone if they had one over their work. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own League Battle Team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.

"I'm going to play," he told Ron, Frank, Heidi and Susan. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them… it'll really wipe the smiles of their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the Arena floor," said Heidi.

"Such faith"

As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous; whatever he told Ron and the others. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Philosopher's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could - yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.

Harry knew when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron, Frank, Susan and Heidi were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again. This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Cane's pep talk as he pulled on his League Jacket.

Harry's friends, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Tianna, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried. Little did Harry know that Ron and Frank had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfette using it on Tianna, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.

"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Frank muttered.

"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."

Back in the locker room, Cane had taken Harry aside.

"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need to wipe out the Hufflepuffs quick, it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."

"The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even - blimey - Dumbledore's come to watch!"

Harry's heart did a somersault.

"Dumbledore?" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.

Harry could have laughed out loud with relief He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.

Perhaps that was why Snape was looking as angry as the teams marched into the arena, something that Ron noticed, too.

"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Frank. "Look -they're off Ouch!"

Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Mercutio.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."

Malfoy grinned broadly at Broice and Gregard.

"Wonder how long Potter's going to go without cheating this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a free shot because George Weasley had directed a Multi-Detonation-Distraction-Monkey towards him. Heidi, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was surrounding himself in a protective field of fire, and looked to be channeling a spell.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another free shot for no reason at all. "Its people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom'teth, you've got no brains."

Tianna went bright red under her fur but turned in her seat to face Mercutio.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfette," she stammered.

Malfoy, Broice, and Gregard howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Tianna."

"Longbottom'teth, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.

"I'm warning you, Malfette - one more word…"

"Ron!" said Susan suddenly, "Harry -"

"What? Where?"

Harry had finished channeling his spell and appeared to surround himself with fire. With a blast of power, Harry shot forward like a bullet, summoning Fiery Blades in his hands, similar to the one he used to take down the Troll on Halloween, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.

Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Frank then clambered over the back of his seat to help.

"Come on, Harry!" Susan and Heidi screamed, leaping onto their seat to watch as Harry sped through the Hufflepuff ranks, slicing wildly at them, taking every single down a few shades - she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Frank, Broice, and Gregard.

In the arena, Snape jumped out of the way as Harry ran past him, 'accidentally' slashing Snape's robes, and ran up the wall before backflipping off and blasting back the way he came, using fire from his hands as propulsion. As he shot back, Alicia let loose a twister of raw destructive magic and directed it towards the other team, being careful not to hit Harry.

The Hufflepuff's tried to deflect the spell, but were overwhelmed and swept up. As soon as Harry hit the ground and rolled to a squatting position next to Cane, all of the Hufflepuffs collapsed as their Medallions turned black and they succumbed to exhaustion.

The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Susan, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Tianna in the seat next to her.

Harry stood up straight, breathing heavily from the spell he'd done. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it – the fight was over; it had barely lasted five, maybe ten minutes! As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped - then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.

"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror... been keeping busy... excellent..."

Snape spat bitterly on the ground as Harry stared in shock at the Headmaster. How did he…

Later on, as Harry was walking back to the suite, Gryffindor Jacket on proudly. He couldn't ever remember feeling so proud. He'd done something he could be known for, instead of what his father did. The evening air wafting through the windows never smelled so sweet. He walked through the cool hallways, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron, Frank, Heidi and Susan in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed, while Frank had a bit of blood on him, but no injuries he could see.

Harry stopped at one of the windows and leaned against it, breathing deeply and staring at the moon. He smiled as he noticed that at this time of year, he could see the crescent shaped shadow of Terran City against the rising moon, thousands of miles away in space, orbiting the Earth. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape…

And speaking of Snape...

A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the Foreboding Forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figures prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner – what was going on?

Harry jumped out the window and used some basic self-levitation to slow his descent and allow him to land softly on the damp grass and casting a numbing spell on his shoes, making them near silent. He followed Snape into the forest, keeping at least a yard behind him at all times. He almost lost Snape, but heard voices and followed them. He found Snape in a shadowy clearing, but he wasn't alone. Quirrel was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying; not wanting to risk casting any surveillance spells.

"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..."

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all."

Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I -"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.

"I-I don't know what you..."

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly yelped, feeling very tense from the conversation going on between the two professors. He stopped himself in time to hear Snape say, "- your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't -"

"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."

He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.

"Harry, where have you been?" Susan squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Broice and Gregard tried to take on Frank! They're still out cold but Madam Pomftey says they'll be all right - talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the Dorm, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room; you wait 'til you hear this..."

He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, and then he told them what he'd seen and heard.

"So we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocuss- I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through -"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Susan in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.

Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.

Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, Susan, Heidi and Frank would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe. Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.

Heidi, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. Harry, Ron and Frank wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.

"Heidi, the exams are ages away."

"Ten weeks," Heidi snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"How are you not a Ravenclaw? And anyway, we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it A."

It was true, Heidi was proving to be nearing the top in her year, next to Harry and Frank. Despite Heidi's status as a 'Goth', she was very serious about her studies.

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me..."

"Simple, you met us" Harry said, grinning at her cheekily. She rolled her eyes and bonked Harry over the head with a book.

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Heidi. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Heidi next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Tianna, who had unoffically joined their little group, spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his pen and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

Harry, who was looking up "Flux Capacitor" in One Thousand Technical Devices and Doo-Dads, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?" "Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St -"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"

"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"

"See you later, then," said Harry.

Hagrid shuffled off.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Heidi thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"He does look like the sort who'd like a dragon. He once mentioned he had always wanted a pet Flintmaw" Heidi said.

"But it's against the law." Said Ron. "Dragon Breeding was first outlawed by the Warlocks Convention of 1709, then again a few years back by the Terran Republic. It's hard to keep a tight leash on a dragon when it can grow up to the size of a small house and breathe fire. Anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.

"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks."

"So what on earths Hagrid up to?" said Heidi.

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.

It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.

"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at him.

"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"I examined him one night on a midnight stroll. He's a gorgeous breed of Cerberus" Harry noted.

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Heidi in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Heidi went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry, Ron and Frank beamed at Heidi, while Susan raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell – Professor Whisperwind – Professor Beja'Toogra'teth – Professor Bronzeheart – Professor Circuit an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

"Yeah – yer not thinking he's gonna steal it, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

Harry knew Ron, Frank, Heidi and Susan were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything - except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it, too.

"Hagrid - what's that?"

But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er..."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Susan.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Susan didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut. "Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Heidi had now started making study schedules for the boys, too. It was driving them nuts.

Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: _its hatching_.

Frank wanted to skip his History class and go straight down to the hut. Susan wouldn't hear of it.

"Susan, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing -"

"Shut up!" Harry whispered.

Draco Malfoy, big brother to Mercutio Malfoy, who had left the lower years alone for most of the year, was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.

Frank and Susan argued all the way to History and in the end, Susan agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other four during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the five of them dropped what they were doing at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.

They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"It's a she. Notice the crest on the forehead, that's only on females" Ron pointed out, knowing quite a bit about dragons.

"Oh. Bless her, look, she knows her mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Hagrid," said Heidi, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."

Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.

Mercutio Malfoy had seen the dragon.

Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Frank very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

"Just let her go," Harry urged. "Set her free."

"I can't," said Hagrid. "She's too little. She'd die."

They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.

"I've decided to call her Norberta," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "She really knows me now, watch. Norberta! Norberta! Where's Mommy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.

"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norberta's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his lip.

"I - I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

Harry suddenly turned to Ron. "Charlie," he said.

"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No - Charlie - your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norberta to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"

And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send -an owl to Charlie to ask him.

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Frank and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norberta, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.

"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."

There was a tap on the dark window.

"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"

The three of them put their heads together to read the note.

_Dear Ron,_

_How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._

_Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._

_Send me an answer as soon as possible._

_Love,_

_Charlie_

They looked at one another.

"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the cloaks big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy.

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norberta's fangs were poisonous.

Harry and Heidi rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfette told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me -I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

Harry and Heidi tried to calm Ron down.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Heidi, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norberta."

Harry and Heidi didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Heidi. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norberta. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

They found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.

"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norberta's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."

When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norberta had just bitten him on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, she only got my boot - jus' playin' - she's only a baby, after all."

The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry and Heidi walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norberta if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norberta packed and ready in a large crate.

"She's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed her teddy bear in case she gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norberta!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Heidi covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"

Luckily, the tallest tower in Hogwarts was the Observatory. Unluckily, it was on the other side of the grounds. Soon enough, the Negative-Stone building, which was now pure white since the night sky was a blinding light yellow in the reflective stone, came into view.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted.

Then sudden movements ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Mercutio by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you -"

"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

Harry felt he could kiss the Elevator leading up to the top of the tower, but decided not to, not knowing when it was last cleaned. When they were inside, Harry threw off the cloak, and Heidi did a sort of jig.

"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"

"Don't," Harry advised her.

Chuckling about Malfoy, they carried Norberta onto the Balcony underneath the large telescope, the dragon thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and Heidi the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norberta between them. They all helped buckle Norberta safely into it and then Harry and Heidi shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Norbert was going... going... gone.

They took the elevator back down, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norberta was off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness?

The answer to that was waiting when the doors to the Elevator dinged open. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."

They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

_A/N: Well, compared to the last chapter, this one was quite easy to write, with only a few changes. I did some math, and I estimate that by the time I reach the point that the original book ends, I'll only have a bout 10-15 chapters, which is why I'm thinking of doing a few chapters describing the first half of their Holidays, and then continuing the rest of that Holiday in the next story._

_Hope you enjoyed this, and don't forget to put a review, fav and follow for more adventures. Also, please don't just put in your reply "Me Likey" or "Please Write more" I wanna hear what you think of the story, and what you'd like to see. If you send in an idea, and I like it, I might add it._

_I might even have cameos of other authors or their characters if you want. I live for your reviews and it annoys me when I get a notification and the review has nothing in it of value._

_Peace Out:_

_Dimension Jumper_


	7. Detention, Mystery, Exams and Trapdoors

**Name****: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating****: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre****: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings****: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville, Futuristic 90s.

**Pairings****: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognize. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

_A/N: I dedicate this chapter to a Miss Leanne Zarate, who was the only one who gave me some proper feedback, and I thank you for that. Thanks Meeez! :D_

Things couldn't have been worse.

Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Heidi was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover- up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, each more feeble than the last. He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak? There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the observatory, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norberta and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already.

Had Harry thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Tianna.

"Harry!" Tianna burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, and he said you had a drag -"

Harry shook his head violently to shut Tianna up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norberta as she towered over the three of them.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the observatory. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

It was the first time Heidi had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Mercutio Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom'teth here heard the story and believed it, too?"

Harry caught Tianna's eye and tried to tell her without words that this wasn't true, because Tianna was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Tianna - Harry knew what it must have cost her to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Bones, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Ms. Longbottom'teth, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous - and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

"Fifty?" Harry gasped - they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor – please.."

"You can't -"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students."

A hundred points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?

Harry didn't sleep all night. He knew Tianna, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?

At first, Gryffindors passing the screens that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the Pyromanical Champion of Gryffindor, had lost them all those points, him and a couple of other stupid first years.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup. Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!"

Only his friends stood by him.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."

"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.

"Well - no," Ron admitted.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on. He'd had it with sneaking around and spying. He felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Cane and offered to resign from the League team.

"Resign?" Cane thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at League Battle? Harry, what you did was stupid, but you are still our best team member"

But even League Battling had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him "the Pyromancer."

Heidi and Tianna were suffering, too, as well as Susan for being related to Heidi. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Heidi had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence. Neville, while upset, did try to get Gryffindor off Harry's back, since he had helped Tianna with Malfette.

Harry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying he had to do kept his mind off his misery. He, Ron, Frank, Heidi, Tianna and Susan kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions...

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.

"No - no - not again, please -"

It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer.

"All right - all right -" he heard Quirrell sob.

Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom clenching his fingers on his right hand. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, and then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Harry was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling.

All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step - Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.

Harry went back to the library, where Susan was testing Ron on Runic Traps. Harry told them what he'd heard.

"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell -"

"There's still Fluffy, though," said Susan.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a Cerberus. So what do we do, Harry?"

The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Susan answered before Harry could.

"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we all should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."

"But we've got no proof!" said Harry. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor - who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Susan looked convinced, but Ron didn't.

"If we just do a bit of poking around -"

"No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."

He pulled a schematic for a sonic screwdrive and started to learn the major components.

The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Heidi, and Tianna at the breakfast table. They were all the same:

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall._

_Professor McGonagall _

Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. He half expected Heidi to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they'd got.

At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron and Frank in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Heidi, who was waiting for them near the main staircase. Filch was already there - and so was Malfoy. Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well-oiled in case there ever needed... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.

The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have showed in his face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy - it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

At this, Tianna let out a little mewl-like squeak, and Malfette stopped dead in his tracks.

"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night - there are all sorts of things in there - werewolves, I heard."

Tianna clutched the sleeve of Harry's jacket and made a choking noise.

"Malfette, werewolves aren't savage beasts all the time. And it's not even a full moon, educate yourself" Harry snorted. "And anyway, when Werewolves are transformed, they prefer open plains with tall grass, not forests"

Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large shotgun, and a belt with extra ammo.

"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Heidi?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly; "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yehve got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff; it's not for upstanding humans to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd.."

tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or Yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on'"

Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze. Tianna was shooting a nasty glare at Malfoy, having caught that little snippet about 'upstanding humans'.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Harry, an' Heidi'll go one way an' Mercutio, Tianna, an' Fang'll go the other.

"No." Harry said. Hagrid paused, and looked at him questioningly. "I don't want to leave Malfoy alone with Tianna. I'll go with Malfoy and Fang"

Hagrid nodded, and continued, "Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now - that's it - an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh - so, be careful - let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Tianna, Heidi and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Harry, and Fang took the right.

So Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

"Look -" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.

Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.

It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.

Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted - so did Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry - unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry - he couldn't move for fear.

Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his chest; it was like his heart was constricting on itself. Half blinded, he staggered backward. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.

The pain in Harry's chest was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A Centaur was standing over him; he looked young; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.

"Yes - thank you - what was that?"

The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry.

"You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time – especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.

"My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back. It was an honor for a centaur to allow a member of another race to sit on their back.

There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Two more centaurs came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.

"Firenze!" The black haired and –bodied centaur thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"

"Do you realize who this is, Bane?" said Firenze. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."

"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"

The other centaur pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.

Bane kicked his back legs in anger.

"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs of the forest are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest! Like those Deserters"

Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.

"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."

And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving the Forest Centaurs behind them.

Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.

"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used -for?"

"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Alchemy."

"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.

"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, deaths better, isn't it?"

"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else - something that will bring you back to full strength and power - something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course - the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who -"

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"

It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what his dad had once told him concerning the one who killed his mother: "Some say he died. Complete Bull, in my opinion. I honestly don't know if he had enough human left in him to die."

"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"

"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"

Heidi was running toward them down the path, Hagrid and Tianna puffing along behind her.

"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

Harry slid off his back.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harry shivering behind him.

Ron had fallen asleep in the suite, waiting for them to return, while Frank was reading a book in his armchair. Ron shouted something about sharks with lasers on their heads when Harry roughly shook him awake. In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him and Heidi what had happened in the forest. Tianna had gone to bed immediately after getting back. Harry had invited her to the suite to chat, but she just got skittish and said she had to get up early the next day and fled.

Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

Harry wasn't listening.

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"Will you stop saying the name?!" Ron hissed.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish Neville off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

Heidi looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch Neville or anyone here. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.

When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:

_Just in case._

Harry smiled and put it away in his desk drawer, and climbed into his pajamas. Once in bed, and as he was about to fall into a deep slumber, he remembered a small detail he'd forgotten to mention to his friends.

Why did his chest hurt near Voldemort? Did it have anything to do with his scar?

In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door.

It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new pens for the exams, which had been bewitched with an AntiCheating spell.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox - points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.

In Technomancy, Harry had to take apart and rebuild a sonic screwdriver… blind folded and with sensation numbing gloves. He did pretty well, when compared to everyone else. His Sonic Screwdriver only exploded twice. In his mundane classes, they mostly consisted on doing a test on everything they'd done that year, and Harry promised himself he was going to quit Math's next year and take up Battle Magecraft like he said he'd do.

Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his chest, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest. Tianna thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his new nightmare, which included a hooded figure dripping blood in it.

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their chests, but Ron, Frank, Heidi and Susan didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to.

Their very last exam was Elementalism. Everyone had to make a show of how much control they have in their chosen element. Harry chose fire, and probably dwarfed everyone in how well he could manipulate it. He chose to re-enacted his Flaming Sword Dash move he did in the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff match. Heidi used the water element, and ripped a chunk of water from the lake, suspended it above them and spread the water molecules out thinly, before releasing it bit by bit. By doing this, Heidi created a soothing rain, that created a rainbow when the light from the sun hit it just right.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Heidi as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I didn't even have to create any shapes with the water after making it rain, and I was so tempted to do a water version of your signature move."

"Signature move? That's not my signature move. I just used it to end the match quick before Snape could give Hufflepuff another free shot." Harry said, finding a place near the lake, a little bit away from the Elementalism Court, and sitting down.

"Hmm" Heidi said, and sat down next to him, closing her eyes and relaxing. Harry noticed that Heidi had a few red streaks in her hair, and it was going a bit red at the roots.

Soon enough, Frank, Ron and Susan joined them, as well as Tianna shockingly. Ron summoned a lawn chair and sat down, whipping out a pair of shades and relaxing. Frank followed suit, taking off his shirt to sun himself a bit. Susan stared for a few minutes, before breaking her gaze away from her boyfriends chest and struck a conversation with Heidi about their exams. That left Harry to talk to Tianna.

"No more studying," Tianna sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

Harry was rubbing the centre of his chest.

"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My sca.. chest keeps hurting – it's happened before, but never this often as this"

"Go to Madam Pomfrey, If it's your chest it could be serious," Heidi said, turning from her talk with her sister.

"I'm not ill," said Harry absently. "I dunno, it's been like this for as long as I've known."

"Were you going to say scar, a minute ago?" asked Tianna, getting a strange look on her face.

"N-no! It's nothing. Forget I said anything" Harry said, feeling a little panicked. He couldn't let them see _it_.

"Harry. Tell us" Susan said, joining the conversation, with Heidi following. Harry looked between the three irate females, one of which possessed very sharp claws. He sighed and unbuttoned his shirt, showing off his chest. It was quite a sight, not just from the muscle he'd gotten from weight training, but also the ugly jagged scar running down his chest. If one squinted, it looked a little like a deformed lightning bolt.

"Oh my god" Heidi gasped, her hand over her mouth. Harry blushed and buttoned his shirt up.

"My dad said I got it when my Mum died. Apparently, Voldemort had blasted a window to get into the house, and a shard of glass impaled me. Mum put me under a stasis charm, and Dad tried to fight off Voldemort. He knocked dad out, then killed Mum. By the time Dad woke up and got me to St Mungos, it was too late to heal without leaving a mark. The magically charged shard of glass missed most of my vital organs, but I have this reminder, as well as a smaller one on my back. The spell used on the glass was a blasting curse, and the Healers theorised that I'll have these phantom pains for most of my life, but they never said it'd be this bad" Harry finished his explanation, looking down at the grass. He glanced up and saw the horrified faces of his friends.

"The life of the Police Chief's son is not perfect, guys" Harry said, trying to crack a joke. Heidi slapped him across the head then hugged him tightly. Harry winced at the pain in his head and felt confused by the hug.

"Heidi, stop hugging Harry" Ron said, not bothering to look over. Frank and Ron either remained oblivious to the exchange, or decided not to heckle Harry for details.

"I sometimes get the feeling my scar only hurts when dangers nearby…" Harry muttered as Heidi pulled away.

Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.

"Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once; he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Tianna will League Battle for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

"He's righ- Hey!" Tianna snapped, glaring at Ron. The ginger snickered a little.

Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Susan said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."

Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy... never... but -

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.

"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had turned white. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."

"Why?" panted Susan, hurrying to keep up.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against Terran law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," said Frank, but Harry cut him off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norberta? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

He saw the six of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head - that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."

"And did he - did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, try ing to keep his voice calm.

"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep -"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey - where're yeh goin'?"

Harry, Ron, Susan, Tianna, Frank and Heidi didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak - it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.

"We'll just have to -" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.

"What are you six doing inside?"

It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Susan, rather bravely, Harry and Ron thought.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"

Harry swallowed - now what?

"It's sort of secret," he said, but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Terran Republics Britain Magi Department and apparated to the nearest Space Port immediately."

"He's gone?" said Harry frantically. "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great mage, Potter, he has many demands on his time -

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Terran Republic, Potter.

"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor - it's about the Philosopher's Stone -"

Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up. "How do you know -?" she spluttered.

"Professor, I think - I know - that Sn- that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."

She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor -"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

But they didn't.

"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note; I bet the Terran Republic will be right surprised when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we -"

Heidi and Tianna gasped. Harry, Ron, Frank and Susan wheeled round.

Snape was standing there.

"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.

They stared at him.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.

"We were -" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.

"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"

Harry flushed. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.

"Be warned Potter – any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

He strode off in the direction of the staffroom.

Out on the steps, Harry turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "One of us has to keep an eye on Snape – wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Heidi, you'd better do that."

"Why me?"

"It's obvious," said Ron. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried; I think I got question fourteen b wrong...'"

Heidi punched Ron in the arm for that, but agreed to go and watch out for Snape.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron and Frank. "Come on."

But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own house!" Harry and Ron went back to the suite, Harry had just said, "At least Heidi's on Snape's tail," when the door to the suite swung open and Heidi came in. Frank gave Heidi and Susan a Guest Key to get this far into Gryffindor Dorms.

"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.

The other four stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

"You're bonkers!" said Frank.

"You can't!" said Heidi. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back home and wait for Voldemort to finish off me and my family, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you four say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my mum, remember?"

He glared at them.

"You're right Harry," said Heidi in a small voice.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all five of us?" said Ron.

"All - all five of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not," said Frank briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."

"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."

"Not if I can help it," said Susan grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the Dorm room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry any more, after all. This was the first night he hadn't been upset by it. Susan was with them and skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. Harry, Ron and Frank didn't talk much. All three of them were thinking about what they were about to do. Heidi just sat and stared into the fire, seemingly hypnotized by the dancing flames.

Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark suite. He putted out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy - he didn't feel much like singing.

He ran back down to the dorm room.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all five of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Tianna appeared from behind an armchair. She was wearing a bathrobe over her flannel pajamas.

"Nothing, Tianna, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back.

Tianna stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," she said.

"No, no, no," said Heidi. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Tianna?"

Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.

"You can't go out," said Tianna, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"Tianna, remember what we were talking about with the Philosopher's Stone? Well, it's extremely dangerous, can bring the dead back to life and if we do not stop Snape from stealing it, he may bring Voldemort back from the dead! Do you want that?" Harry asked, his patience growing thin. Tianna looked a little shocked, and could have been pale under her blonde fur.

"N-no…" Tianna muttered.

"That's right, now we have to go." Frank said.

"I'll come too. I-I want to help" Tianna said, looking at them. Harry sighed and looked up at the clock again.

"Alright, but if there's any serious danger, you need to get out of there" Harry said, and the six left the Dorm room. Harry was about to address the issue of the cloak, when Tianna snapped her fingers and shimmered out of sight. Frank and Susan did a simlar spell, which left Harry, Heidi and Ron to go under the cloak.

In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamplike eyes on them, but didn't do anything.

They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"

He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

Harry had a sudden idea.

"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake - I didn't see you - of course I didn't, you're invisible - forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."

"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."

And he scooted off

"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron.

A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor - and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other two.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Ron.

"We're coming," said Heidi.

Harry pushed the door open, and Susan, Frank and Tianna reappeared.

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Susan whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Frank. "Snape must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes..."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased - it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Heidi?"

"No, I don't!"

"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Susan said anxiously.

"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Heidi so she can keep him asleep."

Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Heidi began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.

Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.

He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and Frank and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the Suite and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," said Ron.

"See you in a minute, I hope...

And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and - FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.

"Its okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Harry.

"What's this stuff?" were his first words.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, you four!"

After Susan, Frank and Tianna jumped down, the distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.

"We must be miles under the school," she said.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.

"Lucky!" shrieked Tianna. "Look at you guys!"

She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Harry, Frank, Susan and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.

Tianna had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the three Gryffindors and two Hufflepuffs fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.

"Stop moving!" Tianna ordered them. "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck. "Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Tianna.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? - it likes the dark and the damp…"

"Fire!" Harry said, his eyes lighting up. Fire seemed to shoot from his body and swirl around him and his friends, heating and drying up the area. The Devils Snare quickly cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.

"Lucky you take Care of Magical Plants, Tianna," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah, and good thing Harry's a Pyromaniac" Frank said, rubbing his head. Harry blinked.

"You mean Pyromancer, right?"

"Yeah, that too"

"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon - Norberta had been bad enough...

"Can you hear something?" Susan whispered.

Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead - I can see something moving."

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Frank.

"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."

He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked.

The other two followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Heidi tried the Unlocking charm.

"Now what?" said Ron.

"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," said Susan.

They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering - glittering?

"They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So that must mean..." he looked around the chamber while the other two squinted up at the flock of keys. "No brooms or anything. Maybe we need to fly up there. Remember flying lessons?"

"Didn't Tianna break her tail during that first lesson, and then you got into an all-out war with Malfette and Slytherin and the classes had to be cancelled after that first lesson?" asked Frank, looking at Harry. Harry thought for a second, before slowly nodding.

"Yeah… Alright, Frank, Ron and I will fly up there. I'll go at it from the top, and Frank and Ron will fly at the key we want from both its sides, so basically flank it. I'm guessing we'll be looking for something old and brass, like the lock, and if it's been caught already, it might have some damage to it, like a wing or something. Got it?"

Ron, Frank and Harry all lifted into the air, through their own means. Ron simply levitated, Frank conjured an anti-gravity field around him, and Harry blasted into the air, using fire shot from his hands and feet like boosters.

After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large brass key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Harry dived, Ron rocketed upward, the key dodged them both, and Frank streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Susan's, Heidi's and Tianna's cheers echoed around the high chamber.

They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned - it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.

"Ready?" Harry asked the other five, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.

The room ahead was massive, and consisted of a thick wall, with only three entrances. As they looked into the entrances, they seemed to branch off into different directions.

"Great. A freaking maze" Harry groaned. He turned to the others. "Any ideas?" he asked.

"Uh, Heidi and I used to play in mazes when we were young. Our grandparents always told us to just keep to the left. Or something like that. I'd suggest two of us go through each entrance. Harry and Heidi, you go through the one in the middle, Frank and I'll go through the middle and Ron and Tianna you got the last one. Alright, let's go and if you can't find the way out, just sit tight until help comes along" Susan said. Everyone agreed and went through their own entrance.

The maze was a tricky one, being enchanted by Beja'Toogra'teth. Harry and Heidi first came upon a trap in the floor, where when a stone was tread on, it caused the floor to vanish, revealing a bubbling tar pit. Harry nearly fell in, but was pulled back Heidi at the last second.

"Thanks" Harry said, nodding to Heidi and continuing forward, making sure to miss the stone that triggered the trap. Harry and Heidi follow Susan's suggestion of keeping to the left, and made it out with Ron and Tianna.

"Frank? Susan?" Harry yelled out into the maze.

"A little lost mate! You go on ahead, we'll see if we can get through" Frank yelled back. Harry nodded to himself, and gestured the others to follow. Harry opened the door at the end, and stepped inside.

The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Ron, Tianna and Heidi shivered slightly - the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

"How?" said Heidi nervously.

"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other two.

"This needs thinking about he said. I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces..."

Harry and Heidi stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess -"

"We're not offended," said Tianna quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Tianna, you take the place of that bishop, and Heidi, you're next to her instead of that castle. Harry, you can take the other bishop"

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, two bishops, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Harry, Ron, Tianna and Heidi took.

"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes... look..."

A white pawn had moved forward two squares.

Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?

"Harry - move diagonally four squares to the right."

Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Heidi, go on."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry, Tianna and Heidi were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think let me think..."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Harry, Tianna and Heidi shouted.

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me - that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

"But -"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

"Ron -"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"

There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor - Tianna screamed but stayed on her square - the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.

Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry, Tianna and Heidi charged through the door and up the next passageway.

The next room looked like a normal room, though the floor seemed to be tiled with pavement slabs. Each one had a run on them. Heidi stepped forward when she spotted the door, but Heidi stopped her.

"Wait…" she said. She tore a strip of cloth of her shirt sleeve and transmuted it into a handful of rocks. Heidi took one and tossed it onto the first square. It lit up, and a beam of blue light enveloped the stone vanishing it.

"Alright, either those are teleport pads, or that stone was just vaporized. Either way, I do not want anyone to step onto a tile without testing it first. Tear of some cloth from your person, and transmute them into throwing stones." Heidi instructed. The human boy and the nefarian girl nodded, tearing off a bit of their own sleeves and transmuting their own stones. Well, Tianna needed a little help.

Slowly, they made their way across the room, tossing stones onto the tiles around them in order to find a safe passage. It took a bit, but in the end they all made it through.

"That was probably Bronzehearts challenge. Crafty old dwarf" Heidi said, shaking her head.

"You know him?" Harry asked, frowning. Travel Magic was a third year course. Heidi smiled.

"Yeah, mum was his favorite student, and he sometimes comes over to discuss Lesson Plans" Heidi said. At Harry's questioning look, she explained. "Mum teaches Advanced Travel Magic at the Magi University of London"

"Ah, best continue on." Harry said, and led them into the next room. Luckily for them, the next two rooms had been done for them. In what was most probably Circuit's challenge; the smoking remains of several heavy duty sentry guns laid scattered around the room. In Quirrels challenge, it appeared the challenge was to face a troll, similar to the one Harry and Heidi had fought on Halloween.

Snape was very brutal on this one, since the Troll appeared to have had most of its internal organs torn from its body and sprayed across the room. Harry felt sick, while both Tianna and Heidi were sick. Harry patted them on the back, and used a strong scourgify to clean the air and most of the blood.

The next room was a surprise. It consisted of a wooden table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line and a sheet of paper.

"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Look!" Heidi seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry looked over her shoulder to read it:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Heidi let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.

"Brilliant," said Heidi. "This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest magi haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever. Or, at least, they used to. Snape must be set in the old ways"

"But so will we, won't we?" "Of course not," said Heidi. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Heidi read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - toward the Stone."

Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow."

The three of them looked at each other.

"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Heidi pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"You and Tianna drink that," said Harry. "No, listen, get back and get Ron, Frank and Susan. Fly out and use my flute to get past Fluffy - go straight to the suite and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, and we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."

"But Harry - what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"I'll try to keep him busy. Maybe I can make him think I'm interested in joining him, just so he doesn't kill me straight away" Harry said, shrugging.

Heidi's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Heidi!"

"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know."

"Noncense, I'm just a normal kid doing what's right," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

"Harry - be careful!" Heidi said, wiping her eyes. Tianna gave him a tight hug, and then looked at him with a firm look in her eye.

"If you die in there, I'll personally learn necromancy so I can bring you back and kill you again" she growled. Harry looked shocked for a second, before grinning and ruffling Tianna's blonde mane.

"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Heidi. She took a short drink from the round bottle at the end, handed it to Tianna and shuddered.

"It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.

"No - but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck - take care."

"GO!"

Heidi and Tianna turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames.

"Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.

It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; he braced himself, saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them - for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire - then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there - but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

_A/N: DUM DUM DUUUUM!_

_Thank you, those few who have read and reviewed, for doing so and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I suspect this book will have maybe five more chapters, two wrapping up the year and three detailing the first half of Harry's school vacation._

_If you're wondering where Whisperwind's challenge is, she worked with Beja'Toogra'teth, as most of the traps in the maze were illusions. If any of our heroes had fallen into any of the lava pits, tar pits or other dangerous hazards, they would have fallen through them harmlessly and been teleported into a cell._

_To the Anonymous Reviewer Kylie o3o: Thank you for pointing out that mistake, I'll go back and fix it ASAP. And I'll be happy to explain the layout of Gryffindor Dorms. Think of the whole set-up of the Dorms as a college dormitory building, but set INSIDE the castle itself. Basically, there are three segments. The Receptionist room, where visitors from other Houses are free to enter, the Boys Rooms, taking up five levels, each with six rooms, or suites, the same with the Girls Rooms. _

_The Reception area is used mostly as a hangout/check in (for visitors) and sometimes a study area, with the pinball machine, couches, fireplace, chairs, desks and the receptionist desk. Upper Years, starting at second year are often given Desk Duty randomly, and are tasked with sending a message up to a certain room if a visitor from another house wishes to go up. The Desk is also used to check in new Gryffindor's and give them the keys to their rooms. _

_The Boys Rooms are quite simple, most having a small sitting room, a kitchenette (most don't use them, since they have House Elves to cook), a bathroom and two bedrooms each, often with two students to a room. Some rooms will have single rooms, and others may have an extra added if space is an issue._

_The Girls room is the same, essentially. Gryffindor Dorms are basically in the same area, but the tower was destroyed. If it still confuses you, think of a College themed movie and add magic, extra races and madness happening every year, and you have Ripple Effect._

_Thanks for reviewing Kylie, and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the later ones as well! _

_:D_

_Peace Out:_

_DimensionJumper_


	8. The Man with Two Souls

**Name****: **The Ripple Effect: Rewrite

**Rating****: **Strong T or Weak M

**Genre****: **Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Extreme AU

**Warnings****: **Integrated Magical World, Teenage!Smart!Harry, Bossy!Hermione, BWL!Neville, Futuristic 90s.

**Pairings****: **Harry/OC, OC/Susan, Hermione/OC, Ron/OC

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own the Nefari Race and all the characters that you do not recognize. They are MY intellectual property, MINE! =P

It was Quirrell.

"You!" gasped Harry.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

"But I thought - Snape -"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.

"But Snape tried to kill me!"

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your imbred friend, Neh'Gara'teth-Lee stunned both me and Severus as he rushed to see who was meddling with your Medallion. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have dragged you in front of every spell the Slytherins were sending your way. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next fight? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular... and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.

"You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"You let the troll in? That beast nearly killed Heidi!"

"That was the point, you imbecile. I have a special gift with trolls - you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off - and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that Cerberus didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly.

"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this... but he should be halfway to Terran City... I'll be far away by the time he gets back..."

All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror.

"I saw you and Snape in the forest -" he blurted out.

"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side..."

Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it.

"I see the Stone... I'm presenting it to my master... but where is it?"

Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. He had to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror.

"But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."

"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, "heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead."

"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing - I thought Snape was threatening you..."

For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.

"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions - he is a great wizard and I am weak -"

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it... Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..."

Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley -how could he have been so stupid? He'd seen someone with a Turban there that very day, bumped into him even.

Quirrell cursed under his breath.

"I don't understand... is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"

Harry's mind was racing.

_What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment_, he thought, _is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it - which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to?_

He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself. "What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"

And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself

"Use the boy... Use the boy..."

Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Yes - Potter - come here."

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.

"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Harry walked toward him.

_I must lie,_ he thought desperately. _I must look and lie about what I see, that's all._

Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the vision of his family from Christmas appeared, and the red haired boy with the emerald eyes smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone in Harry's reflections pocket - and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow - incredibly - he'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"

Harry screwed up his courage.

"I see myself fondling a busty blonde's boo-" he invented. Quirrel cursed and pushed Harry away, cutting him off.

"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, he felt the Philosopher's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it?

But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.

"He lies... He lies..."

"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again.

"Let me speak to him... face-to-face..."

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough... for this..."

Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached for his left hand, where he wore a ring on his pinky finger. He slipped it off, and Harry yelled and backed away as Quirrel began to change.

Quirrels skin turned grey and shallow, his eyes glowed red and his turban burned away to reveal a bald head, with large cracks leading to a point on the top of his head. Through the cracks, instead of a brain, was a swirling mass of red and black. Quirrel closed his eyes and his face scrunched up as it changed. Soon, a new horrifying face was occupying Quirrel's body. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Harry Potter..." it whispered.

Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He stumbled backward.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your mother... She died begging me for mercy..."

"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly.

Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching..." it hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your mother was brave... your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"What do you mean she was trying to protect me? She was killed upstairs, while I was downstairs playing with my Dad" Harry asked, feeling the need to stall for time.

"He never told you? Hm, this is interesting. You'll have to ask your father yourself, for I have better things to do then explain it. Now, give me the Stone!"

"NEVER!"

Harry sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HIM!" and the next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his chest felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his chest lessened - he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers - they were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet' landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck - Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony. His face returned for a minute to yell in his own voice.

"Master, I cannot hold him - my hands - my hands!"

And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms - Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny. His face turned back into Voldemorts.

"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face -

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain - his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.

Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off - the pain in Harry's chest was building - he couldn't see - he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry! Harry!"

He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down... down...

Something gold was glinting just above him.

He blinked. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.

He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.

"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore. Harry stared at him. Then he remembered: "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick -"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."

"Then who does? Sir, I -"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out.

Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been in here?"

"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley, Mr. Neh'Gara'teth-Lee and Misses Bones and Bones will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."

"But sir, the Stone…"

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."

"You got there? You got Heidi's owl?"

"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."

"It was you."

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer -"

"Not the Stone, boy, you - the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend - Nicolas Flamel -"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking... sir - even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know- Who -"

"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time - and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me... things I want to know the truth about..."

"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Well... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place? And I was told that I was nowhere near Mum when she died"

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.

"I'm afraid we have been keeping a secret from you, and the world, Harry" Dumbledore said. Harry nodded for him to continue. "That scar, on your chest, was no caused from cursed glass. No. You see, Voldemort came to your house to kill you because of a Prophecy"

"A Prophecy? But Heidi said that Divination is a really inaccurate branch of magic" Harry said, confused. Dumbledore smiled benignly.

"Well, to most, it is. But this Prophecy was spoken by a true seer. I cannot tell you what it is, as of now, but I promise that when the time is right, you will know" Dumbledore said.

Harry knew it would be no good to argue.

"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "Quirrell said Professor Snape hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"

"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

"What?"

"Yes..." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace..."

Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.

"And sir, there's one more thing..."

"Just the one?"

"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes... Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them - but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"

Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict.

"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Professor Dumbledore in..."

"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need rest."

"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..."

"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes only."

And she let Ron, Susan, Frank, Tianna and Heidi in.

"Harry!"

Heidi looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore.

"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to - Dumbledore was so worried -"

"The whole school's talking about it," said Frank. "What really happened?"

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what Quirrel looked like without his ring on, Hermione screamed out loud.

"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was.

"So what happened to you five?" said Harry.

"Well, me and Frank found our way out, and met up with Heidi and Tianna," said Susan. "I brought Ron round - that took a while - and we were dashing up to the suite to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall - he already knew - he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."

"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Frank.

"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did - I mean to say that's terrible - you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..."

"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food will be good."

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT" she said firmly.

After a good night's sleep, Harry felt nearly back to normal.

"I want to go to the feast," he told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"

"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said stiffly, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."

"Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it?"

Hagrid sidled through the door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him, and burst into tears.

"It's - all - my - ruddy - fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a mundane!"

"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."

"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads..."

Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."

"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle. "Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead - anyway, got yeh this..."

It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?"

Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.

Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. He had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving him one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Ron and Frank at a table tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him. Tianna, Heidi and Susan were at the table as well, and Ariawynn Shadowmoon, Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey walked over from their table and sat with them.

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin tables. Harry could see Mercutio and Draco Malfoy banging their goblets on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...

"First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

At last there was silence again.

"Second - to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves - they were a hundred points up. "Third - to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet "for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points - exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup - if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point.

"Fourth – to Miss Susan Bones... for outstanding sense of direction, I award Hufflepuff fifty points"

Hufflepuff cheered on their second year Bones, and Susan blushed brightly under the praise.

"Fifth – to Miss Heidi Bones… for ingenuity and a total disregard for ones sleeves, I award Huffepuff fifty points"

Hufflepuff was now second with Slytherin and Gryffindor tied for first.

"And finally, there are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. And then, there is following your friends into danger so as to help them. I therefore award ten points to Miss Tianna Longbottom'teth."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindors. Harry, Ron, Frank and the Bones sisters stood up to yell and cheer as Tianna, white with shock under her fur, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. She had never won as much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at the Malfoy brothers, of whom couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if they'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on them.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.

It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at League Battling, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls... he would never, ever forget tonight.

Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Heidi, of course, had the best grades of the first years. Even Tianna scraped through, his good Care of Magical Plants mark making up for his abysmal Alchemy one. They had hoped that Broice, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed; Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express and Maglev Buses; Harry took the train and was talking and laughing with the others as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past towns; putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.

At this time of year, it was normal for the mundanes to see mages bursting from the wall. Everyone knew the entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters was there.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Frank, "all of you - I'll send you an email. My family has an estate on Terran City"

"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to." People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Mundane world. Some of them called:

"Bye, Harry!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.

"Yeah, at least they know me for something I did, unlike Neville" Harry grinned. They passed through the gateway, where the party of five (Tianna went home with Neville in their families private car) were met with their families.

"Frangja'Dera'sa!" yelled a woman's voice. Harry looked over and found that Frank was in a strangle hug by a Nefarian woman. She had light blue fur, golden eyes and the traditional Nefarian features. Next to her was a shorter Chinese man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Mum! I can't! Breathe! And call me 'sha' damn it!" Frank shouted, struggling to get away. Mrs. Neh'Gara'teth-Lee let her son go, and noticed his friends.

"Oh! Hello! My name is Jyric Neh'Gara'teth-Lee, and this is my husband Ziang Lee. You must be Frangja's friends" Jyric said, smiling at them. Harry smiled and they all said their hellos.

"Hey Mum, can my friends come stay with us at the estate during the Holidays?" asked Frank, looking up at his mother.

"Only if it's okay with their families. Otherwise, I have no problem" Mrs Neh'Gara'teth-Lee said, smiling down at her son. Heidi and Susan noticed their parents waiting for them.

"The parents are waiting for us. See you guys" Heidi and Susan said, giving everyone a hug. Though Susan got a kiss from Frank, and Heidi gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek before running off. Frank grinned at his friend's bewildered look, and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't look so confused Harry, it's not good for your public image" Frank said, smirking. Harry punched him in the shoulder and grinned.

"I think I can see my Dad's assistant over there, I'm off. See you guys" Harry said, before walking towards Natalie. She was a brunette woman with a warm smile and blue eyes.

"Hey Harry, ready to head home?" she asked. Harry nodded, and allowed Natalie to take his arm. Yellow rings surrounded them before they vanished, the mundanes around them not even batting an eyelid at this show of magic.

They reappeared in the entrance hall, and Harry walked off to put his stuff away.

"Dad? Hey Dad!" Harry called out. He got no answer. He turned to Natalie, and found her looking at him sympathetically.

"Sorry, Harry. He's still offworld." Natalie said. Harry sighed and went to his room to put his stuff away.

"I wonder how long I'll have to wait to visit Frank" Harry said, sitting on his bed and turning on his TV.

_A/N: I decided to not do the finish it nice and quick like the first one, but there will be some school vacation shenanigans first thing next book. _

_Hope you enjoyed this and will stick around for the next installment._

_Peace Out:_

_DimensionJumper_


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